
'L^ il 1 










I) 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

its i*^- Ili i 1 

Cliap.._..^... Copy^rigM No. 

Shell J{.A..C> 1. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 

■ EDITED BY 

GEORGE RICE CARPENTER, A.B., 

Professor of Rhetoric and English Composition in Columbia College. 

This series is designed for use in secondary schools in accordance 
with the system of study recommended and outlined by the National 
Committee of Ten, and in direct preparation for the uniform entrance 
requirements in English, now adopted by the principal American colleges 
and universities. 

Each volume contains full Notes, Introductions, Bibliographies, 
and other explanatory and illustrative matter. Crown 8vo, cloth. 

Books Prescribed for the i8^y Examinations. 

FOR READING. 

Shakspere's As You Like It. With an introduction by Barrett 
Wendell, A. B., Assistant Professor of English in Harvard Univer- 
sity, and notes by William Lyon Phelps, Ph.D., Instructor in 
English Literature in Yale University. 

Defoe's History of the Plague in London. Edited, with intro- 
duction and notes, by Professor G. R. Carpenter, of Columbia 
College. With Portrait of Defoe. 

Irving's Tales of a Traveller. With an introduction by Brander 
Matthews, Professor of Literature in Columbia College, and ex- 
planatory notes by the general editor of the series. With Portrait of 
Irving. 

George Eliot's Silas Marner. Edited, with introduction and notes, 
by Robert Herrick, A.B.. Assistant Professor of Rhetoric in the 
University of Chicago. With Portrait of George Eliot. 

FOR STUDY. 

Shakspere's Merchant of Venice. Edited, wit«h introduction and 
notes, by Francis B. Gummere, Ph.D., Professor of English in 
Haverford College. With Portrait of Shakspere. 

Burke's Speech on Conciliation with America. Edited, with 
introduction and notes, by Albert S. Cook, Ph.D., L.H.D., 
Professor of the English Language and Literature in Yale University. 
With Portrait of Burke. 

Scott's ^Marmion. Edited, with introduction and notes, by Robert 
MoRSS LovETT, A.B., Assistant Professor of English in the 
University of Chicago. With Portrait of Sir Walter Scott. 

Macaulay's Life of Samuel Johnson. Edited, with introduction 
and notes, by the Rev. Huber Gray Buehler, of the Hotchkiss 
School, Lakeville, Conn. With Portrait of Johnson. 



LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLkSSXCS— Continued. 
Books Prescribed for the i8g8 Examinations, 

FOR READING. 

Milton's Paradise Lost. Books I. and II. Edited, with introduc- 
tion and notes, by Edward Everett Hale, Jr., Ph.D., Professor 
of Rhetoric and Logic in Union College. With Portrait of Milton. 

Pope's Homer's Iliad. Books I., VI., XXII., and XXIV. Edited, 
with introduction and notes, by William H. Maxwell, A.M., 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Brooklyn, N.Y,, and Percival 
Chubb, of the Manual Training High School, Brooklyn. With 
Portrait of Pope. 

The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers, from "The Spectator." 
Edited, with introduction and notes, by D. O. S. Lowell, A.M., 
English Master in the Roxbury Latin School, Roxbury, Mass. With 
Portrait of Addison. 

Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield. Edited, with introduction 
and notes, by Mary A. Jordan, A.M., Professor of Rhetoric and 
Old Enghsh in Smith College. With Portrait of Goldsmith. 

Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Edited, with 
introduction and notes, by Herbert Bates, A.B., Instructor in 
English in the University of Nebraska. With Portrait of Coleridge. 

Southey's Life of Nelson. Edited, with introduction and notes, by 
Edwin L. Miller, A.M., of the Englewood High School, Illinois. 
With Portrait of Nelson. 

Carlyle's Essay on Burns. Edited, with introduction and notes, by 
Wilson Farrand, A.M., Associate Principal of the Newark Acad- 
emy, Newark, N. J. With Portrait of Burns. 

FOR STUDY. 

Shakspere's Macbeth. Edited, with introduction and notes, by 
John Matthews Manly, Ph.D., Professor of the English Language 
in Brown University. With Portrait of Shakspere. 

Burke's Speech on Conciliation with America. Edited, with 
introduction and notes, by Albert S. Cook, Ph.D., L.H.D., 
Professor of the English Language and Literature in Yale University. 
With Portrait of Burke. 

De Quincey's Flight of a Tartar Tribe. Edited, with introduc- 
tion and notes, by Charles Sears Baldwin, Ph.D., Instructor in 
Rhetoric in Yale University. With Portrait of De Quincey. 

Tennyson's The Princess. Edited, with introduction and notes, by 
George Edward Woodberry, A.B., Professor of Literature in 
Columbia College. With Portrait of Tennyson. 

*^* See list of the series at end of volume for books prescribed for 
iSgg and igoo. 



LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 

EDITED BY 

GEORGE RICE CARPENTER, A.B. 

PKOFESSOR OP RHETORIC AND ENGLISH COMPOSITION IN COLUMBIA COLLEGE 



ROBERT SOUTHEY 



THE LIFE OF NELSOE" 



LOJSTGMAlSrS' EJN'GLISH CLASSICS 

mh full Notes, Introductions, Bibliographies, and other Explanatory and 
Illustrative Matter. Crown Svo. Cloth. 



Shakspere's Merchant of Venice. 
Edited by Frauds B. Gummere,Ph.D., 
Professor of English in Haverford 
College. 

Shakspere's As You Like It. With 
an Introduction by Barrett Wendell, 
A.B,, Assistant Professor of English 
in Harvard University, and Notes by 
William Lyon Phelps, Ph.D., Instruc- 
tor in English Literature in Yale 
University. 

Shakspere's A Midsummer Night's 
Dream. Edited by George Pierce 
Baker, A. B., Assistant Professor of 
English in Harvard University. 

Shakspere's Macbeth. Edited by 
John Matthews Manly, Ph.D., Pro- 
fessor of the English Language in 
Brown University. 

Milton's L'Allegro, II Penseboso, 
CoMus, AND Lycidas. Edited by 
William P. Trent, A.M., Professor of 
English in the University of the South. 

Milton's Paradise Lost. Books I. 
AND II. Edited by Edward Everett 
Hale, Jr., Ph.D., Professor of Rhetoric 
and Logic in Union College. 

Pope's Homer's Iliad. Books I., 
VI., XXII., AND XXIV. Edited by 
William H. Maxwell, A.M., Ph.D., 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
Brooklyn, N. Y., and Percival Chubb, 
Instructor in English, Manual Training 
High School, Brooklyn. 

Defoe's History of the Plague in 
London. Edited by Professor G. R. 
Carpenter, of Columbia College. 

The Sir Roger de Coverlet Papers, 
from "The Spectator." Edited by 
D, O. S. Lowell, A.M., of the Roxbury 
Latin School, Roxbury, Mass. 

Goldsmith's The Vicar or Wakefield. 
Edited by Mary A. Jordan, A.M., 
Professor of Rhetoric and Old English 
in Smith College. 

Burke's Speech on Conciliation with 
America. Edited by Albert S. Cook, 
Ph.D., L.H.D., Professor of the Eng- 
lish Language and Literature in Tale 
University. 



Scott's Woodstock. Edited by Bliss 
Perry, A. M., Professor of Oratory 
and jEsthetic Criticism in Princeton 

College. 

Scott's Marmion. Edited by Robert 
Morss Lovett, A.B., Assistant Pro- 
fessor of English in the University of 
Chicago. 

Macaulay's Essay on Milton. Edited 
by James Greenleaf Croswell, A.B., 
Head-master of the Brearley School, 
New York, formerly Assistant Pro- 
fessor of Greek in Harvard University. 

Macaulay's Life of Samuel Johnson. 
Edited by the Rev. Huber Gray 
Buehler, of the Hotchkiss School, 
Lakeville, Conn. 

Irving's Tales of a Traveller. With 
an Introduction by Brander Matthews, 
Professor of Literature in Columbia 
College, and Explanatory Notes by the 
general editor of the series. 

Webster's First Bunker Hill Ora- 
tion, together with other Addresses 
relating to the Revolution. Edited by 
Fred Newton Scott, Ph.D., Junior 
Professor of Rhetoric in the University 
of Michigan. 

Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient 
Mariner. Edited by Herbert Bates, 
A.B., formerly Instructor m English 
in the University of Nebraska. 

Southey's Life OF Nelson. Edited by 
Edwin L. Miller, A.M., of the Engle- 
wood High School, Illinois. 

Carlyle's Essay on Burks. Edited 
by Wilson Farrand, A.M., Associate 
Principal of the Newark Academy, 
Newark, N. J. 

De Quincey's Flight of a Tartar 
Tribe (Revolt of the Tartars). 
Edited by Charles Sears Baldwin, 
Ph.D., Instructor in Rhetoric in Yale 
University. 

Tennyson's The Princess. Edited by 
George Edward Woodberry, A.B., 
Professor of Literature in Columbia 
College. 

George Eliot's Silas Marner. Edited 
by Robert Herrick, A.B., Assistant 
Professor of Rhetoric in the University 
of Chicago, 



Other YoluTn,es are in Preparation. 




ADMIRAL LORD NELSON 

(After the painting by John Hoppner) 



Congntang* @nglisli Qllasslcs 



ROBERT SOUTHEY'S 



LIFE OF NELSON 



EDITED 

WITH NOTES AND AN INTRODUCTION 
BY 

EDWIN L. MILLER, A.M. 

INSTBTJCTOB IN ENGLISH IN THE ENGLEWOOD HIGH SCHOOIi, ILLINOIS 







NEW YORK 
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 

LONDON AND BOMBAY 
1896 



THE UBRA&Y 
OV CONGREtS 

WASfllNQTON 



Copyright, 1896 

BT 

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 



All rights reserved 



Press of J. J. Little & Co. 
Aster Place, New York 






?i6# 



PEEFACE 



A GOOD biography is calculated oftentimes to perform 
for the young student a service which it would be vain to 
expect from any other kind of book. It is the natural 
stepping-stone from the lower to the higher realms _ of 
literature. Possessing at once the attractiveness of fiction 
and the sobriety of fact, it has 'the charm of the novel 
combined with the usefulness of the history. It is easy 
to read yet valuable to remember. Many a writer has 
conceived a noble ideal, cherished throughout years of 
earnest and successful toil, owing to a perusal of Trevel- 
yan^s " Macaulay.'''' Many a successful scholar has caught 
his first impulse from the pages of Franklin^s ^^ Autobi- 
ography^^ or BoswelFs ^^Life of Johnson. ^^ Many a man 
of the world, who has risen high above his fellows, can 
trace the inception of the resolve that led him onward 
and upward to the inspiration that he drank in from the 
old Plutarch with the battered cover. Lives of great men 
all remind us we can make our lives sublime. To boys 
and girls at a certain period of development, therefore, 
biography is more useful than any other branch of litera- 
ture. And of English biographies, Southey's ^''Life of 
Nelson " is probably better fitted than any other to interest, 
to instruct, and to inspire the beginner. 

In the reading of this book these three objects should 
be kept in view ; all others are secondary. The student 
should be led to feel that the story is real, human, better 
than a bloody and impossible narrative of desperadoes 
who never existed, and more interesting than a cheap 
pursuit of the vulgar pastimes of the playground. The 
days of Nelson^s glory should be made to live in his 
mind's eye. The example of the great sailor should set 
his heart on fire with a burning wish, not, perhaps, to 
fight and die if need be for his country's glory, but at 
least to do what thing soever it may be his duty to do, 



vi PREFACE 

with such zeal, such enthusiasm, and such determination 
as to wrest success, no matter how adverse the circum- 
stances may be, silence jealousy, and compel admiration. 

The teacher who is to succeed in this effort, like the 
orator of old, will have need of three gifts. The first is 
fire ; the second is fire ; and the third is fiee. The 
instructor thus endowed will melt down with little 
trouble all the stubborn elements that oppose him. The 
book is so exactly calculated to promote the ends out- 
lined that nothing save utter lack of enthusiasm and 
sympathy can lead to failure. 

The text is reproduced, with the exception of one or two 
palpable misprints, from the last edition published during 
Southey's lifetime. The punctuation and the capitaliza- 
tion have not been modernized, as it has been felt that to 
do so would be in some measure to destroy the flavor of 
the book. 

EDvrm L. Miller. 

Englewood, III., June, 1896. 



CONTENTS 

Introduction : 

PAGE 

I. Robert Southey ix 

II. The Life of Nelson xx 

Suggestions for Teachers and Students .... xxv 

Chronological Table xxxiii 

Author's Note 4 

Chapter I. Nelson's Birth and Boyhood — He is entered on 
board the Raisonnable — Goes to the West Indies in a Mer- 
chant-ship ; then serves in the Triumph — He sails in Captain 
Phipp's Voyage of Discovery — Groes to the East Indies in the 
Seahorse, and returns in ill Health — Serves as acting Lieu- 
tenant in the Worcester, and is made Lieutenant into the 
Lowestoffe, Commander into the Badger Brig, and Post into 
the Hinchinbrooh — Expedition against the Spanish Main — 
Sent to the North Seas in the Albemarle — Services during 
the American War 5 

Chapter II. Nelson goes to France during the peace — Re-ap- 
pointed to the Boreas, and stationed at the Leeward Islands 
— His firm conduct concerning the American interlopers and 
the contractors — The West Indies — Marries and returns to 
England — Is on the point of quitting the service in disgust — 
Manner of life while unemployed — Appointed to the Aga- 
memnon on the breaking out of the war of the French Revo- 
lution 35 

Chapter III. The Agamemnon sent to the Mediterranean — 
Commencement of Nelson's acquaintance with Sir W. Ham- 
ilton — He is sent to Corsica, to co-operate with Paoli — State 
of affairs in that island — Nelson undertakes the siege of 
Bastia, and reduces it — Takes a distinguished part in the 
siege of Calvi, where he loses an eye — Admiral Hotham's 
action — The Agamemnon ordered to Grenoa to co-operate 
with the Austrian and Sardinian forces — Gross misconduct 
of the Austrian General 54 

Chapter IV. Sir J. Jervis takes the command — Genoa Joins 
the French — Buonaparte begins his career — Evacuation of 
Corsica— Nelson hoists his broad pendant in the Minerve — 



viii CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Action with the Sabina — Battle off Cape St. Vincent — Nel- 
son commands the inner squadron at the blockade of Cadiz 
— Boat action in the Bay of Cadiz — Expedition against 
Teneriffe — Nelson loses an arm — His sufferings in England, 
and recovery 88 

Chapter V. Nelson rejoins Earl St. Vincent in the Vanguard 
— Sails in pursuit of the French to Egypt — Returns to 
Sicily, and sails again to Egypt — Battle of the Nile . .117 

Chapter VI. Nelson returns to Naples — State of that Court 
and Kingdom^General Mack — The French approach Naples 
— Flight of the Royal Family — Successes of the Allies in 
Italy — Transactions in the Bay of Naples — Expulsion of the 
French from the Neapolitan and Roman States — Nelson is 
made Duke of Bronte — He leaves the Mediterranean and 
returns to England 147 

Chapter VII. Nelson separates himself from his wife — Northern 
Confederacy — He goes to the Baltic under Sir Hyde Parker 
— Battle of Copenhagen, and subsequent Negotiation — Nel- 
son is made a Viscount 193 

Chapter VIII, Sir Hyde Parker is recalled, and Nelson ap- 
pointed Commander — He goes to Revel — Settlement of 
Affairs in the Baltic — Unsuccessful Attempt upon the Flo- 
tilla at Boulogne — Peace of Amiens — Nelson takes the 
Command in the Mediterranean on the Renewal of the War 
— Escape of the Toulon Fleet — Nelson chases them to the 
West Indies, and back — Delivers up his Squadron to Ad- 
miral Cornwallis, and lands in England .... 227 

Chapter IX. Sir Robert Calder falls in with the combined 
Fleets — They form a Junction with the Ferrol Squadron, 
and get into Cadiz — Nelson is reappointed to the Com- 
mand — Battle of Trafalgar — Victory, and Death of Nelson. 267 

Glossary, and Index to Notes 299 



PLANS 

Battle of Cape St. Vincent 100 

Battle of the Nile 132 

Battle of Copenhagen . 208 

Battle op Trafalgar 280 



INTRODUCTION 



I. Egbert Southey. 

Robert Southey ^ came into this world a little less 
than one month before the first Continental Congress met 
at Philadelphia. Nelson was then a boy of six and Na- 
poleon had not reached the age of five. Before Southey 
was ten, the Independence of America had been won; 
before he was sixteen, France was struggling to throw off 
the yoke of her ancient kings and laws. At the age of 
thirty-one he had witnessed the perversion of the princi- 
ples of that inspiring struggle into a justification of all 
that is low, bloody, and barbarous; had beheld the conver- 
sion of the French Eepublic into a military despotism; had 
stood aghast at the amazing conquests of Napoleon; and 
had rejoiced in the brilliant victories of Nelson, while sor- 
rowing at his untimely fall. Ten years later he was filled 
with a fierce exultation at the news of Waterloo. In com- 
mon with all the literary men of his day he was deeply 
influenced by these stupendous events. Indeed, it would 
not be too much to say that the brilliant summer time of 
literature which in England followed the close of Napoleon's 
career was in large measure due to the sense of national 
security and national supremacy which the downfall of 
Napoleon had produced. If to the battle of Trafalgar and 
the battle of Waterloo we owe the present conformation of 
the map of Europe, we owe to them no less the writings of 
Coleridge and A¥ordsworth, Byron and Shelley, Macaulay, 
Scott, and Carlyle. In an especial degree do we owe to 
them also the writings of Robert Southey. 

Southey was the son of a dreamy and impecunious 
linen-draper of Bristol, in which city he was born August 

^ Pronounced Sowth-ey or SWi-ey. 



X INTRODUCTION 

12, 1774. Through the kindness and generosity of an 
ancient aunt of the Betsey Trotwood type, he was sent, 
at the age of six, to a school the master of which compen- 
sated in some measure for his unorthodoxy as to the doc- 
trine of the Trinity by sound traditional views as to the 
uses of the cane. At this and other schools he imbibed 
much miscellaneous information, much French radicalism 
dangerous for an English boy to possess, a startling liber- 
ality of theological opinion, and a superficial knowledge of 
the foreign languages in the curriculum; moreover, he 
wrote prose and verse with great industry and little appar- 
ent success. He found Oxford, whither he went to finish 
his education, infested with men remarkable only for big 
wigs and little wisdom. The vulgar riot of college life 
had no charms for him; he was bored by lectures and 
nearly driven into rebellion by examinations; all, he said, 
that he learned was a little swimming and a little boat- 
ing. He did, indeed, make a few valued friends at Ox- 
ford, but he entered the place without enthusiasm and left 
it without regret. His college years, however, were not 
fruitless ones. In his independent groping for intellectual 
food he chanced upon the works of Epictetus, and the 
stoical philosophy of the Greek slave entered into the 
fibre of his being and colored all the aims and ideals of 
his after career. Nor was his |)en idle. During his resi- 
dence at Oxford he wrote a socialistic drama called "Wat 
Tyler," and shortly after bidding adieu to his Alma Mater 
he had an epic poem called "Joan of Arc," in twelve 
books, ready for the publisher. 

Neither of these productions, both of which had been 
inspired by the French Eevolution, was given at once to 
the world. Already Sou they 's radicalism was beginning 
to evaporate. The executions of Marie Antoinette, of 
Madame Eoland, and of Brissot, followed hard as they 
were by a carnival of butchery, gave fatal shocks to his 
enthusiasm. For awhile he thought of organizing a 
band of republicans to liberate Greece; for awhile he had 
dreams of a cottage in America, Financial reasons pre- 
vented the realization of either plan. Though hard 
pressed for money, the strength of his conscience would 
not, as Emerson's would not, permit him to obtain the 
relief which he could have secured at once by taking 



INTRODUCTION xi 

orders; and the weakness of his nerves prevented him 
from seeking it in a profession which makes familiarity 
with the dissecting room imperative. While he was in this 
frame of mind there came to visit him one day in 1794 a 
young man with a spirit as radical, a mind as fiery, and a 
temperament as unpractical as his own. .This was Samuel 
Taylor Coleridge. He too had already suffered adversity 
and written poetry. Between him and Southey a warm 
friendship sprang up. Inspired by common aspirations 
and common disappointments, they resolved to leave the 
old world of rotten thrones and corrupt manners, seek the 
young republic beyond the sea, and found on the banks 
of the Susquehanna a community which was to rest on the 
two fundamental principles that all property should be 
held in common and that each member should take unto 
himself a wife. The second of these requirements was 
promptly complied with by both of the projectors of Pan- 
tisocracy, by which fine word they designated their scheme, 
Coleridge shortly afterward marrying an estimable young 
woman called Sara Fricker, and Southey becoming the hus- 
band of her sister Edith; but the first, inasmuch as there 
was no property to hold in common or otherwise, caused at 
first the postponement, and, finally, the abandonment of 
the plan. After various ineffectual efforts to raise funds, 
it was laid aside; Southey, with a confidence in his own 
powers that is half heroic, in spite of the foolishness of the 
transaction, borrowed money to defray the expenses of his 
wedding; and directly after the ceremony, at the invitation 
of an uncle who was chaplain of the English colony at Lis- 
bon, sailed, without his wife, for Portugal, his intention 
being to spend a year among strange people in the study of 
new customs and foreign idioms. 

He was always slow, however, to make new acquaint- 
ances, either of men or places; he was naturally impa- 
tient to be at the side of his young wife; and though he 
luxuriated in the indolent glory of the southern clime, 
and went eagerly to work to make himself familiar with 
Portuguese books and babble, as he himself said, his 
departure from the South was marked by no feeling of 
regret. 

In 1796, shortly after his return to England, his poem 
'* Joan of Arc " was published at Bristol, in an ambitious 



xii IN TROD UCTION 

quarto, by his friend Cottle,^ the same who had lent him 
money to buy his wedding ring. It was praised in the re- 
views and bought by the people, the effect on the author 
being that he began to have a sort of " Helicon dropsy," 
as he said, and would rather leave off eating than poetizing 
— certainly an alarming result. Poetizing, however, did 
not produce pence, and the Penates being exacting in their 
demands for ' ' dues of fire and salt, for the firstlings of 
fruits, and for offerings of fine flour," the bard made a 
heroic effort to study law. To his own intense delight his 
attempt ended in complete failure. Only one means of 
support was left — the pen, and to the pen he betook him- 
self with an energy and an industry that remain unparal- 
leled to this day. From this time on literature was his 
sole financial resource. 

For forty years he toiled at his desk, and his pen fell at 
last from his wearied hand only when his tired brain had 
ceased to think. His punctuality, his precision, and his 
energy in the labor of his chosen profession, indeed, have 
become proverbial. He himself has left us the record of it 
all in a letter to a friend. " Three pages of history after 
breakfast (equivalent to five in small quarto printing); 
then to transcribe and copy for the press or to make my 
selections and biographies, or what else suits my humor 
till dinner-time; from dinner till tea I read, write letters, 
see the newspaper. . . . After tea I go to poetry, and 
correct, and rewrite, and copy till I am tired." Fearful, 
indeed, is the tribute of nerves and brain tissue which 
Apollo exacts from those who seek to win bread by the 
pen; unremitting in a unique degree the slavish toil; and 
ever imminent the danger of collapse physical or mental. 
Of all this Southey was acutely conscious. As he could 
not afford to rest, his method of guarding against break- 
down was to have a variety of work always on hand. 
''You wonder," he wrote to Landor, "that I can think 
of two poems at once. It proceeds from weakness, not 

' Byron paid his respects to this estimable gentleman, who some- 
times wooed the Muses himself, immortalizing him by one line in 
English Bards and Scotch Reviewers : 

" O Amos Cottle ! Phoebus, what a name I " 

Once, he said, Cottle was a seller of books he did not write, and 
now a writer of books he does not sell. 



INTRODUCTION . xiii 

from strength. I could not stand the continuous excite- 
ment which you have gone through in your tragedy." In 
spite of all his precautions, however, he found himself 
threatened, after three years of this life, with complete 
prostration. Change seemed absolutely necessary; his 
uncle invited him again to Lisbon; a friend gave him £100; 
and in April, 1800, he was once more on his way to Por- 
tugal. 

Complete restoration to health, a more thorough knowl- 
edge of Portuguese books, and a vast collection of mate- 
rials for a history of that country were the immediate 
results of this vacation. On his return to England in 
1801, a letter from Coleridge enticed him to Greta Hall, 
Keswick (pronounced "Kessick"); and there, two years 
later, among the misty hills, the picturesque little lakes, and 
the foaming waterfalls of the charming region that James 
Russell Lowell in later years rechristened " Wordsworth - 
shire," he took up an abode, which he never quitted till 
his death in 1843, 

During all that period he led a quiet, virtuous, and, in 
the main, uneventful life of literary toil. Here his chil- 
dren were born, and here, also, some of them died. Here 
his books were written and here corrected. Hither, too, 
came distinguished friends — Wordsworth, Shelley with his 
mystical skepticism, William Taylor, full of Germany and 
the Germans, Lamb and his puns, and Landor on fire with 
enthusiastic admiration for the sterling manhood of the 
host. Honors were not denied to him. He was made 
poet-laureate; he was elected a member of Parliament ; a 
baronetcy was offered to him; pensions, liberal if not mu- 
nificent, rewarded his industrious toil. But it was chiefly 
in his family and in his books that Southey sought for 
happiness and found it. His devotion to the former is 
perhaps the most engaging trait of his character. When 
a daughter, " an Edithling," as he called her, '' very, very 
ugly, with no more beauty than a young dodo, ' ' was born 
to him in 1804, he was beside himself with joy. A few 
years later he resolved to abandon a journey to Spain 
which he had planned, for the reason that it meant that he 
must forego a year's love of his wife and child. With the 
sentiment of Wordsworth's " We Are Seven," he seems to 
have been quite in sympathy. Writing in 1809, he said. 



xiv INTRODUCTION 

" I have five cliildren, three of them at home^ and two 
under my mother's care in heaven." His fine lines on 
love^ in tlie "Curse of Kehama/'^ are well known, and 
nobody who has read his biography can doubt that every 
word was written from his heart. 

His other passion, a passion equally mastering, was 
centred upon his books. Books alone were able to betray 
him into imprudent expenditure of hard-earned coins; 
books alone, when the custom-house fees loomed large 
before him, tempted him to evade the laws of the realm. 
His collection gradually reached the grand total of four- 
teen thousand volumes. Their preservation and arrange- 
ment were a source of constant joy and constant care to 
him. He learned the mysteries of the binder's art and 
taught them to his daughters. One room was called Paul, 
because Peter, the organ-room, had been robbed to furnish 
it with books. He read, made excerpts, and classified the 
knowledge thus acquired with incredible speed. If reduced 
to twelve books, he declared that he w^ould elect to retain 
Shakespeare, Chaucer, S^Dcnser, and Milton ; Jackson, 
Jeremy Taylor, and South; Isaac A¥al ton, Sidney's "Arca- 
dia," Fuller's " Church History," and Sir Thomas Browne. 
He was perpetually afraid that somebody would injure his 
beloved volumes ; especially did he tremble at the approach 
of Wordsworth. " Letting him into one's library is," he 
said, "like letting a bear into a tulip garden." Rogers 
said that Southey Avas never happy except when reading a 
book or making one. Coleridge declared that he could 
not think of Southey without seeing him either using or 
mending a pen. He himself, in some lines of touching and 
singular beauty,^ has left us a record of how completely his 

^ Beginning, 

" They sin who tell lis Love can die, 
With life all other passions fly, 
All others are but vanity." 



Beginning, 



My days among the Dead are passed, 

Around me I behold 
Where'er these casual eyes are cast, 

The mighty minds of old ; 
My never failing friends are they, 
With whom I converse day by day." 



INTRODUCTION XV 

daily thoughts and hopes and fears were bound up with his 
books. 

This unstinted devotion to books was not without its 
drawbacks. It was said that he gave so much time to the 
minds of other men that he never had time to look into 
his own. The charge is, in part, well founded. While he 
left one hundred printed volumes and one hundred and fifty 
book reviews, he bequeathed little that after generations 
have not willingly let die. Most of his prose is little more 
than a sublimated sort of compilation ; most of his poetry 
is far easier to admire than to enjoy. 

From this defect one section of his verse may be pro- 
nounced comparatively free. Many of his short poems 
are models of clear and graceful narration and easy ver- 
sification. Some of them overflow with rollicking good 
humor; others are imbued with a pathos that is irresistibly 
touching. He himself despised and condemned these 
waifs and satyrs. A candid critic must insist, however, 
that his longer poems are not his happiest efforts. The 
inscription which he wrote for his wife's coifee-pot, for 
instance, is a bit of humorous pleasantry that will never 
lose its point or its fun. Macaulay said that in all South- 
ey's attempts to be witty, he never succeeded in being 
anything except quaintly and flippantly dull, certainly a 
cruel charge, and a charge which may be refuted by the 
laureate's lines on his serene highness, Auld Cloots, or by 
the "March to Moscow." Sou they, indeed, issued his 
first volume of short poems with the motto, " ^N'os haec 
novimus nihil," but posterity has reversed his decision. 
Who does not know ' ' Mary the Maid of the Inn, " " Bishop 
Bruno," "Bishop Hatto," who was eaten by the rats, 
"Blenheim," and that admirable waterfall "Lodore," 
where the waters still come down as of yore, in full view of 
Southey's Keswick home, in the same charmingly jumbled 
eagerness which they exhibit in his verse ? On the other 
hand, who now reads " Thalaba," that wild and wondrous 
song, or " Kehama," or " Madoc," or " Eoderick, the Last 
of the Goths," which Byron thought the first poem of the 
time ? The simple truth is, that, while Southey's longer 
poems do mark the new birth of English narrative verse, 
while they contain splendid description, noble and effect- 
ive versification, abundant vigor and abundant fire, they 



XYi INTRODUCTION 

are fatally defective in one of the two fundamental requi- 
sites of literature. It is tlie purpose of literature^ to unite 
into an organic unity a spiritual conception and a material 
form^ to solemnize the nuptials of the finite and the infin- 
ite^ to embody what may be in terms of what is. Unless 
literature does this, there is no justification for its exist- 
ence. In " Thalaba " and *^ Madoc/' and the " Curse of 
Kehama " there is an abundance of the spiritual, the in- 
finite, the may-be; but the is, the finite, the material are 
wanting. They are like the giant whose strength vanished 
when his feet were lifted from the earth. One touch of 
Nature makes the whole world kin; unfortunately, in 
Southey's longer poems, that touch is too often absent. 

Of the verses which his official duties as laureate led him 
to write, the less that is said perhaps the better. He him- 
self described the yearly process of manufacturing stanzas 
for New Year's as an ode-ous job. Two of his most fortu- 
nate poems, however, were written in his official capacity 
— the tender lines on the " Death of the Princess Char- 
lotte," and the noble burst of righteous wrath composed 
during the negotiations with Napoleon in 1814. These, 
however, were more than counterbalanced by the enormous 
failure of the '' Vision of Judgment," a sort of apothe- 
osis of the poor old crazy King, George III., which was 
greeted from all quarters with derisive comment, and paro- 
died, with most admirable success, by the wicked and 
witty Byron. 

Southey's relations with Byron form, indeed, one of 
the most readable chapters in his history. In " English 
Bards and Scotch Eeviewers," Byron had mischievously 
remarked that "Thalaba" would be read when Homer 
and Virgil were forgotten, but — not till then ; had declared 
that startled metre had fled before " Thalaba's " face; and 
had ended his tirade against Southey with the pious ejac- 
ulation, '^ God help thee, Southey, and thy readers, too! " 
Later, however, they met amicably in London, through 
the intervention of Eogers. Byron was much pleased Avith 
what he called Southey's "epic appearance." " To have 
his head and shoulders, I would," he said, "almost have 
written his ' Sapphics. ' " He wrote in his diary: " South- 
ey's talents are of the first order. His prose is perfect. 
He has probably written too much of poetry for the present 



INTRODUCTION xvii 

generation; posterity will probably select; but he has pas- 
sages equal to anything." However^ when he was about 
to give " Don Juan/' a strange compound of ribaldry and 
beauty^ of wit and blasphemy, to the world, Byron, who 
dearly loved to shock people, saw and took the opportunity 
to do so by dedicating the offspring of his disreputable 
Pegasus to Southey, who was the very personification of 
propriety. The lines are familiar and droll ; they begin : 

"Bob Southey! You're a poet — Poet-laureate, 
And representative of all the race, 
Although 't is true that you turn'd out a Tory at 
Last, — yours has lately been a common case ;" 

and they angered Southey, who, in the preface to the 
'^Vision of Judgment," written shortly after, said that 
the writings of the noble lord savored of Moloch and Belial 
— most of all, of Satan; and referred to him as one of 
those " men of diseased hearts and depraved imaginations, 
who, forming a system of opinions to suit their own un- 
happy course of conduct, have rebelled against the holiest 
ordinances of human society; and, hating that revealed 
religion which, with all their efforts and bravadoes, they 
are unable entirely to disbelieve, labor to make others as 
miserable as themselves, by infecting them with a moral 
virus that eats into the soul." Byron's revenge was, as 
has been hinted, an ample one; contemporaries are gener- 
ally ready to laugh with a wit, especially when he is laugh- 
ing at a saint, and they laughed immoderately with Byron 
at Southey; posterity may still smile, but it is forced to 
acknowledge that Southey, in spite of his vehemence, was 
mainly in the right, and Byron, in spite of his wit, mainly 
in the wrong. 

The change in Southey's religion and politics alluded 
to in the dedication to "Don Juan" laid him o]oen to 
many bitter attacks as long as he lived, and has puzzled 
his later critics not a little. In reality, there is nothing 
either dishonourable or surprising in the transformation 
which his opinions underwent. Hundreds of cases might 
be cited of hot-headed and warm-hearted boys who have 
held opinions which in their after years they completely 
disavowed; and Southey in his iconoclastic Oxford days 
was only a boy. Praed turned Tory. Macaulay turned 



xviii INTRODUCTION- 

Whig. Mr. Gladstone changed from Toryism to Liberal- 
ism. A man is not bound by any moral obligation to be- 
lieve in a thing after it is proved false. South ey himself 
put the matter succinctly. Speaking in 1809 of the stead- 
fast friends of France^ he said: "They had turned their 
faces toward the east in the morning to worship the rising 
sun^ and in the evening they were looking eastward, obsti- 
nately affirming that the sun was still there." He, on the 
contrary, altered his position as the world went round. 

To the last, however, he was the champion of grand 
schemes for reform, and a dreamer of socialistic visions 
which show that the fire which ins|)ired " Wat Tyler " still 
smouldered in his breast. Those visions, or such of them 
as are embodied in the ' ' Colloquies on Society, ' ' Macaulay 
dissected with much acumen and justice in one of his brill- 
iant reviews, which is to be found in the first volume of 
his collected essays, and which thoroughly deserves a pe- 
rusal by every student of Sou they. His other prose works, 
excepting always the " Life of J^elson," may be briefly dis- 
missed. Their manner is, as Byron said, perfect. "We 
find," wrote Macaulay, "so great a charm in Mr. South- 
ey's style that, even when he writes nonsense, we generally 
read it with pleasure. " " The only way to write like him is 
to write well," is the verdict of a recent critic. But he was 
unfortunate in his choice of subjects. Brazil and Portugal 
did not interest the public. His "History of the Penin- 
sular War ' ' was overshadowed by that of the eye-witness 
Napier. Success in handling such a subject as he under- 
took to treat in his " Book of the Church " required great 
critical powers, and great critical powers he did not possess. 
With the lives of Cowper and Wesley, however, he suc- 
ceeded passably; with that of ISTelson, transcendently. 

Though it was not till 1834 that Southey was provided 
with a year's expenditure ahead, his ceaseless industry 
brought its reward at last, and it is pleasant to record the 
fact that, beside his books, he was able to leave an estate 
of £12,000. Competence would have come sooner to one 
whose heart was less kindly than his; but he seldom 
resisted or cared to resist the call of a fellow-mortal for 
aid. Among others who bore grateful testimony to his 
kindly efforts in their behalf were Chatterton's sister, 
Kirke White, Herbert Knowles, and Charlotte Bronte. 



INTRODUCTION xix 

Of Sonthey's personal appearance Carlyle has left us 
some interesting memories. Speaking of one of his inter- 
views with him^, he says: " I recollect nothing more of it, 
except my astonishment when Southey at last completely 
rose from his chair to shake hands. He had only half risen 
and nodded on my coming in ; and all along I had counted 
him a lean little man; but now he shot suddenly aloft into 
a lean tall one, in shape and stature like a pair of tongs." 
He records also the blush of the laureate — an " amiable red 
blush, beautiful like a young girl's, when you touched 
genially the pleasant theme, and serpent-like flash of blue 
or black blush (this far, very far, the rarer kind, though it 
did recur too) when you struck upon the opposite. ' ' 

The sensibility which caused the blush thus noticed 
by Carlyle ultimately led to the complete extinction of 
Southey's faculties. In 1834 his wife became insane. In 
1835 she died. From the moment that she ceased to 
breathe, Southey's mind began to fail. The first evidence 
of this which he gave publicly was the contraction of a 
marriage with a certain Miss Bowles, '^ given," as Carlyle 
grimly tells us, "to scribbling, with its affectations, its 
sentimentalities, and perhaps twenty years younger than 
he," who "had heroically volunteered to marry him, for 
the purpose of consoling, etc., to which he heroically had 
assented. " The dismal expedient succeeded no better than 
was to be expected; quarrels arose between wife and 
daughters; the poet's mind grew daily weaker; and, in 
1840, when Wordsworth went over to G-reta Hall, his old 
friend did not recognize him till he was told. " Then," 
his visitor tells us, "his eyes flashed for a moment with 
their former brightness, but he sank into the state in which 
I had found him, patting with both hands his books affec- 
tionately like a child." In this state he lingered for three 
years, his mind growing gradually darker, until his death, 
in March, 1843. 

It would be easy to pick little flaws in Southey's char- 
acter. He was womanish, quick to anger, keen rather 
than deej), and as eager and egotistical as a child about his 
own productions. But when these deductions have been 
made, there is nothing more to be said against him. The 
study of his life is really more inspiring than the study of 
his works. Piety; gentle, deep affection; reverence for 



XX INTRODUCTION 

God and man; a kind, sincere, and courteous manner; abso- 
lute ' ' reliability ; ' ' — these are the words which the severest 
of critics — Coleridge and Oarlyle — use to characterize him. 
Sara Coleridge, who was intimately acquainted with Words- 
worth, was wont to declare emphatically that Southey was, 
upon the whole, the best man she ever knew. Nobody, it 
was said, could quarrel with him face to face. All of his 
friends were in a pre-eminent degree good men. A con- 
science clear of offence, the constantly recurring enjoy- 
ments from his honorable industry, and the gratification 
of his parental affection secured for him, said De Quincey, 
a golden equanimity. Coleridge compared him to Marcus 
Cato. But he was Marcus Cato without the grimness. 
*'Take him for all in all," Henry Taylor writes, — "his 
ardent and genial piety, his moral strength, the magni- 
tude and variety of his powers, the field which he covered 
in literature, and the beauty of his life, — it may be said of 
him justly, and with no straining of the truth, that of all 
his contemporaries he was the greatest m ak. ' ' 



11. The "Life of Nelsok." 

How the " Life of Nelson " came to be written is told in 
the eighteenth chapter of Southey 's " Life and Correspond- 
ence ' ' : 

" This, which was perhaps upon the whole the most popular of 
any of my father's works, originated in an article in the fifth 
number of the (Quarterly Review (February, 1810), which was en- 
larged at Murray's request. My father received altogether £300 
for it — £100 for the Review ; £100 when the Life was enlarged ; 
and £100 when it was published in the Family Library." 

On February 1, 1813, Southey made the following entry 
in his diary : 

''The 'Life of Nelson' was completed this morning. This is 
a subject which I should never have dreamt of touching, if it had 
not been thrust upon me. I have walked among sea-terms as 
carefully as a cat does among crockery ; but if I have succeeded 
in making the narrative continuous and clear — the very reverse of 
what it is in the lives before me — the materials are in themselves 



INTRODUCTION xxi 

so full of character, so picturesque and so sublime, that it cannot 
fail of being a good book." ^ 

Of the narratives thus referred to, the chief was the 
''Life of Nelson" by Clarke and M' Arthur, from which 
Southey drew most of his materials, even going so far in 
many instances as to copy whole passages almost word for 
word. From the desire on Southey's part to finish the 
work quickly, to which this wholesale appropriation of ma- 
terial points, arose doubtless the only serious defects of the 
book — an occasional ambiguity and an occasional use of 
technical terms which is out of place in a narrative intended 
primarily for the general reader. 

The general reader, however, was pleased with Southey's 
little book, and bought up edition after edition with avid- 
ity. It became equally the darling of the sailor and of 
the schoolboy. A special edition was published by the 
American government, and a copy issued to every seaman 
and every officer in the American navy. The greatest of 
British reviewers summed up its merits in enthusiastic 

^ The book was dedicated to John Wilson Croker (1780-1850), who 
was a warm personal friend of Southey's, and famous for his connec- 
tion with the Quarterly Review. He was one of the best haters that 
English literature has produced. Political and literary reformers 
were his pet aversion. He wrote the article which was long believed 
to have killed Keats, whom he called a copyist of Leigh Hunt, 
"more unintelligible, almost as rugged, twice as diffuse, and ten 
times more tiresome and absurd than his prototype. " To this Byron 
refers in. the familiar epigram : 

" Who kiird John Keats ? 
' I,' says the Quarterly, 
So savage and tartarly, 
' 'Twas one of my feats,' " 

Croker's favorite pastime consisted in exposing minute inaccura- 
cies in the statements of his contemporaries; but he was treated to a 
taste of his own dish when he published his edition of Boswell's Life 
of Johnson, which was reviewed by Macaulay in his most slashing 
style. He endeavored to revenge himself on the great essayist when 
the latter's History of England appeared, but, as Rogers said, 
" attempted murder, but only committed suicide." Macaulay is said 
to have remarked that he hated Croker worse than cold boiled veal. 
Among Croker's other literary enmities were Madame d'Arblay (see 
Macaulay's essay), Moore, and Disraeli. The last satirized him as 
Rigby in his novel of Coningsby. Croker wrote a volume of poems 
called Songs of Trafalgar, and served as Secretary to the Admiralty 
for twenty-two years. 



xxii INTRODUCTION 

eulogy. It was in the Edinhurgli Revieiu for January, 
1830^ that Macaulay wrote: 

"No writer, perhaps, ever lived whose talents so precisely 
quaUlied. him to write the history of the great naval warrior. 
There were no fine riddles of the human heart to read, no theories 
to propound, no hidden causes to develop, no remote consequences 
to predict. The character of the hero lay on the surface. The 
exploits were brilliant and picturesque. The necessity of adher- 
ing to the real course of events saved Mr. Southey from those 
faults which deform the original plan of almost every one of his 
poems, and which his innumerable beauties of detail scarcely re- 
deem. The subject did not require the exercise of those reason- 
ing powers, the want of which is the blemish of his prose. It 
would not be easy to find, in all literary history, an instance of a 
more exact hit between wind and water." 

Posterity has not reversed the dictum of Macaulay. 
Specialists in nautical matters have indeed transferred 
their allegiance to Sir Harris Nicolas, Captain Mahan, and 
James's " Naval History; " the men who love to pry into 
the dark places in human history have found more congen- 
ial matter in Pettigrew and Jeafferson; and the general 
reader has turned with pleasure to the picturesque pages of 
Mr. Clark Russell and the scholarly and acute work of Pro- 
fessor Laughton. These books enjoy a temporary advan- 
tage because they embody the results of researches made in 
recent years, but it can be only temporary. A few notes 
suffice to make Southey equal to them in accuracy; nothing 
can make them equal him in literary quality; and it is liter- 
ary quality, and that alone, which makes a book live after 
the generation in which it was produced has passed away. 
Southey's "Life of Nelson " has stood this test for more 
than fourscore years; it is already one of our classics, and 
one of our classics it seems destined to remain. 

It remains to be said that there is a right way and a 
wrong way to read this book, as, indeed, there is to read 
any book whatsoever. It may be perused with a passive and 
merely receptive mind, or with an active and discriminat- 
ing one. The first process, it is almost needless to say, 
will afford little pleasure, and less profit. The second will 
make possible, and even necessary, in connection with 
almost every paragraph, a stimulating, rational, and de- 
lightful exercise of the judgment and the imagination. 



INTRODUCTION xxiii 

To the student who turns the following pages with a 
mind alive and active, two questions will continually pre- 
sent themselves and will have continually to be answered. 
Is it not possible or even probable that the views expressed 
by South ey are somewhat colored and distorted by his pa- 
triotism as an Englishman ? Is it not likely that, not 
being ourselves English, we shall fail, unless we keep the 
point constantly in mind, to appreciate to the full the 
heroic element in Nelson's career and the place which he 
must hold in English hearts ? 

Southey's remarks concerning our own war of independ- 
ence (p. 38) will serve, for instance, to put the student 
on his guard when Southey condemns the French and Ital- 
ians in unsparing terms, vilifies Napoleon, and speaks of 
John Bull in words which imply, if they do not expressly 
declare, that he can do no wrong. A perusal of Oarlyle's 
" French Revolution " or Abbott's " Napoleon " will show 
him that there is another side to the picture that Southey 
paints. He must not, however, hasten to condemn our 
author as partial and unreliable. He should seek rather to 
put himself in the writer's place, divine his thoughts, feel 
as he felt, and by such means better understand his point 
of view and account for his natural prejudices. 

In this effort he will be powerfully assisted if he will 
avail himself of the analogies afforded by American his- 
tory. For Southey's unscrupulous French and degenerate 
Italians, let him substitute the British who burned the 
capitol at Washington, and the Spaniards who are oppress- 
ing Cuba; on Napoleon's throne of infamy let him set 
Benedict Arnold, and for the sturdy self-respect of John 
Bull let him substitute, in imagination, the no less sturdy, 
and to us more familiar, self-respect of Uncle Sam. 

A similar process of comparison will enable the Ameri- 
can student to understand how near and how dear the mem- 
ory of Nelson must be to every British heart. There are 
scores of American seamen the mention of whose names 
awakens a responsive thrill in the bosoms of their country- 
men. John Paul Jones and Decatur, Porter and Law- 
rence, Bainbridge and Hull, M'Donough, Stewart and 
Perry, are magic words to us. One of them won a repu- 
tation for deeds of romantic daring; one of them died 
nobly in the hour of a defeat that was no disgrace ; another 



xxiv INTRODUCTION 

was captured by a force thrice his own after a bloody 
struggle; all were as brave as any men who ever stood 
upon a quarter deck. For these reasons we honor their 
names ; we cherish their memories ; we love to read of their 
deeds; we are proud to be able to say: "These men are 
countrymen of ours." Candor^ however, compels us to 
admit that, great as they were, when placed side by side 
with such a vast figure as that of Nelson, they seem small 
indeed, and insignificant. In his first campaign he engaged 
in more actions and captured more men, guns, and ships 
than any one of these great American seamen in his whole 
career. The importance of the prizes which he took in 
the battle of the Nile alone was in excess of that of all 
the warships captured by us from the British in the entire 
war of 1812. Universal history affords no example of a 
naval hero who equalled him in energy, in picturesque- 
ness, and in brilliancy of achievement. But, tremendous 
as is the affection which these qualities secure and must 
continue to secure for him, his hold upon the British heart 
is based upon a deeper feeling still. To him England is 
indebted not merely for a heroic name to adorn her rolls 
of greatness but for her very existence as a European 
power. Had he not lived and fought and died no English 
fireside would be what it is to-day. For England he did 
as much as Washington or Lincoln did for us. Every 
Englishman must realize that without his services his 
country could not have been protected against the fury and 
the ambition of Napoleon. Had it not been for Trafalgar, 
Waterloo might never have been fought; the British em- 
pire in India might not exist; one half of Europe might 
to-day be French and the other Eussian; and England, 
instead of owning an empire on which the sun never sets, 
and ranking second to none of the powers, might occupy 
a position somewhat inferior to that of Austria, and per- 
haps a trifle more important than that of Holland. 



SUGGESTIONS FOE TEACHEES AND 
STUDENTS 

The following is a list of the best and most available 
books on Nelson : 

Clark and M'Artlinr: Life of Nelson. 2 vols. 1809. 
No longer regarded as anthority. — Hamilton, Lady: Mem- 
oirs. Anonymous. 1815. Abused (and used) by most 
writers on Nelson. Proved true in the main by other 
books. — Hamilton : Nelson Papers. 2 vols. 1894. Printed 
for private distribution. — Harrison: Life of Nelson. 1806. 
Laughton calls it "a pack of lies." Mr. Clark Russell 
characterizes it as *^a romantic view of the hero from a 
Delia- Cruscan or Rosa- Matilda standpoint, a book inspired 
by the bad taste and flighty imagination of Lady Hamil- 
ton." — James: Naval History. 6 vols. The standard 
authority on English naval history for the period after 
1793. — Jeafferson : Lady Hamilton and Lord Nelson. 
1888. The Queen of Naples and Lord Nelson. 1889. 
Engagingly written works on Nelson's private life. — 
Laughton: Nelson. English Men of Action. 1895. A 
thoroughly digested resume of Nelson's career, up to date. 
— Captain Mahan : The Influence of Sea Power upon the 
French Revolution and Empire. 2 vols. 1892. An 
admirable work by a distinguished authority on naval his- 
tory. The best book on the subject. — Nicolas: Dispatches 
and Letters of Lord Nelson. 7 vols. 1844-46. The 
storehouse of facts concerning Nelson. — Pettigrew: Mem- 
oirs of the Life of Nelson. 2 vols. 1849. Contains 
much concerning Lady Hamilton. — Robinson: The British 
Fleet. Information concerning the organization, history, 
customs, personnel, ships, etc., of the British Navy. — 
Russell : Nelson. Heroes of the Nation Series. 1890. A 
picturesque book, full of anecdotes and interesting infor- 
mation. 



xxvi SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS 

AYitli regard to Sontliey, consult the following books, 
the best authorities likely to be in the reach of pupils in the 
United States: 

Allibone: Dictionary of British and American Authors, 
Yol. iii. A com|)lete bibliography and some critical matter. 
— Bartlett: Familiar Quotations. — Bryant: Library of Po- 
etry and Song. Selections from Southey's poems. — 
Byron: Poems. Consult index. — Carlyle: Reminiscences, 
p. 321. — Chambers: Encyclopasdia of English Literature, 
vol. ii., p. 81. Well written critique and biography. Selec- 
tions. — Dowden: Life of Southey. English Men of Let- 
ters. A fascinating biography. — Macaulay: Essays, vol. i. 
Southey's Colloquies on Society Reviewed. Eull of keen 
and brilliant analysis and noble rhetoric. — Russell, W. 
Clark: Book of Authors, p. 396. An interesting collec- 
tion of the things said by great people about Southey. — 
Taine: English Literature. Consult index. Southey's 
respectability as viewed by a Frenchman. — Ward: English 
Poets, vol. iv., p. 155. The latest criticism. Selections 
from Southey's poems. — Welsh: Develo|)ment of English 
Language and Literature, vol. ii., j), 274. Brief criticism. 
— Southey's "Commonplace-Book," edited by his son-in- 
law, John Wood Warter, was published in 1849, and his 
"Life and Correspondence," edited by his son, the Rev. 
Charles Cuthbert Southey, in 1850. 

The amount of time which, in most schools, can be 
devoted to the " Life of Nelson," will probably not exceed 
half a term. If so much ground is to be covered in sacli 
a limited time with any appreciable gain, there is obviously 
need of a caref ally planned and j)rearranged series of exer- 
cises. The following suggestions are offered to teachers: 

1. Organize the class at the outset into a literary club, 
with officers, programme, committees, etc. This will 
arouse the sense of individual responsibility, and give the 
exercise life. Take yourself the office of critic. Let the 
dominating |)rinci23le of the organization be the idea that 
a liberal education can be secured from one book, if the 
student is willing to follow out to the end every line of 
thought and investigation which it suggests. 

2, Take one chapter of the book for each recitation. 
Let it be read at home one recitation in advance of the 
class, and require a written synopsis from each pupil. Let 



SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS xxvii 

this be primarily an exercise in that sort of judgment 
which is needed to seize and connect the salient points of a 
narrative, rejecting uninteresting and trivial details. Let 
it, above all, be brief — non multa sed multum. Supple- 
ment this work, and test the knowledge of the pupil con- 
tinually, by asking oral questions on the subject matter. 

3. Insist that every word written be regarded as a part 
of the work in composition. 

4. Refuse to receive papers defective in spelling, punctu- 
ation, capitalization, and neatness. 

5. Encourage absolute freedom of thought and expres- 
sion — always by example, never by precept. Remember 
that an ounce of praise is worth a pound of blame. The 
great Nelson always declared that his officers and men were 
the noblest set of fellows in the world. 

6. Do not make the mistake of confining your attention 
to three or four pupils at each recitation. No blunder is 
commoner, and none is more exactly calculated to put a 
class to sleep. Ask a great number of short, sharp ques- 
tions, calling upon each member of the class several times. 

7. Divide the recitation as follows: First, ten minutes' 
quiz on the chapter assigned for the day; second, a pro- 
gramme of twenty minutes on topics suggested by the text; 
last, a lecture of thirty minutes on the chapter for the 
ensuing recitation. A liberal portion of the last should be 
devoted to assigning the work in such definite form that 
the student will not waste time or effort. One or two 
specific things to be done may and should be based on each 
page. For example, " You are to answer this question by 
a quotation from the text; you will rewrite this sentence, 
the purpose being to convey the same idea in fewer and 
better words; you will select either a title or a motto for 
the chapter; you will bring to the class a sentence care- 
fully framed and embodying some bit of criticism on the 
text." 

8. Make use of all the methods of stimulating interest 
that are within your reach. Get the doctor's children to 
consult their father about Nelson's maladies, and the law- 
yer's to go to theirs for information concerning the navi- 
gation laws. 

9. A few subjects suitable for the programmes suggested 
will be found scattered throughout the notes. Others, 



xxviii SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS 

which it is hoped will suggest many more, are subjoined : 
The Nelson Touch. See page 274. — At what moment of 
his life was ISTelson most to be envied ? — The Battle of the 
Nile. (A description to be written from memory and 
afterwards compared vv^ith Southey's.) — Which do you pre- 
fer as a battle painter — Southey or Clark Russell ? — If 
you were about to paint a group of the characters in the 
book, how would you arrange them ? — The names of the 
vessels mentioned in this book. — The physical characteris- 
tics of men of genius. — Why are the English superior to 
the French on the sea ? — Manners and conversation of great 
men. — Are great men modest? — Why was Nelson long 
neglected by the Admiralty ? — Assassination as a political 
power. — Theodore of Westphalia: a romance. — Military 
organization as shown by military titles. — Nelson's egotism. 
— Genius and titles of nobility. — Frigates and ships of the 
line. — Nelson in Poetry. 

10. Above all, avoid idle and aimless discussions about 
things in general. Don't be afraid of earthy facts. 

11. Before the book is begun, require each member of 
the class to read in some short history of England the 
story of the period from 1758 through 1805. Gardiner's 
and Green's are the best. One of these and Duruy's 
*' History of France " should be kept for constant reference. 

The preceding list of subjects for study and composition 
will indicate the editor's conception of the teacher's best 
course in this respect. But the question is a puzzling one. 
Two stumbling blocks seem to stand perpetually in the 
way of the average pupil who would learn to write his 
mother tongue with perspicuity and force. He finds little 
to say and is at a loss how to say that little effectively. 
The best efforts of many able teachers have long been 
directed to the solution of the problems to which these 
difficulties have given rise, with results which are not alto- 
gether satisfactory. 

The most definite progress made thus far has been in 
the direction of removing the difficulty first alluded to. 
This has been done by making a special effort to furnish 
the student with something to say. Two methods of secur- 
ing this result have met with wide approval. In some 
cases material has been drawn from the pupil's own obser- 
vation of men and things; in others it has been obtained 



SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS xxix 

from books. Both plans have been prodnctiye of great 
and lasting good, but each has brought with it certain evils. 
In cases where pujDils have drawn their subjects for compo- 
sitions from what we may, for want of a better term, call 
"life,"^ it has proved generally to be the case that, while 
they found something to say, they were apt to make little 
or no progress in the art of saying it effectively. There 
was a more serious fault still. The process did not lead 
them out of their own narrow round of commonplace ideals 
and aspirations. The practice of drawing subjects from 
literature has resulted in evils equally serious and more 
generally apparent. It is inimical to originality of thought 
and language. The pupil's writing is usually unsatisfac- 
tory in one of two ways. If he has endeavored to think 
for himself, his criticisms are painfully inadequate in ex- 
pression. If he has taken his ideas from books, and tried to 
put them into his own words, he has merely turned good 
English into English which, if not bad, is pretty sure to be 
inferior. Both results, it is scarcely necessary to add, are 
comparatively fruitless and essentially disheartening. 

Modern pedagogy has devised in connection with the 
teaching of foreign languages the now widely recognized 
principle of basing work in composition upon the text of 
some author whose writing has been read and discussed. 
In this way propriety of diction is secured, a high ideal of 
thought cultivated, and the learner led to |)lace his hand, 
as it were, upon the very pulse of the living genius of the 
language in its noblest forms. The same principle may 
be applied, and applied with even more gratifying results, 
to work in English composition. 

To discuss thoroughly the detailed application of this 
principle to actual classroom work would require a volume. 
A few suggestions are all that can be offered here. 

Of course there are many English classics the style and 
spirit of which it would be folly to ask a class to imitate. 
It would be a waste of time to set ordinary girls and boys 
to work upon effusions in the style of Spenser, or Milton, 
or Shakspere. Abundant inspiration will be found, hoAv- 
ever, in Chaucer and Pope, Bacon and Addison, Haw- 
thorne, Irving, and Macaulay. The method of procedure 
can be illustrated by the last named author's review of 
Kobert Montgomery's poems. First, this will be read and 



XXX SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS 

commented on in class. Particular attention will be paid 
throughout to the purity, the clearness, and the vigor of 
the English, to the exquisite skill with which transition 
from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph 
is managed, to the masterly alternation of long and short 
groups of words, and above all to the manly directness of 
the style. As soon as the reading of the review is finished, 
the class is to be required to write a similar review of the 
worst book of poems that ingenuity can unearth and money 
can buy. Finally, the teacher will correct the papers, 
referring the class to Macaulay first and the rhetoric 
afterwards in the marginal notes in which he points out 
mistakes and makes suggestions. 

It may be objected that the youthful critic will contract 
many of the vices of Macaulay 's style as well as some of its 
virtues. This is more than probable; but it may be con- 
tended that it is better to have a faulty style than no style 
at all. However, the danger from this source can be much 
exaggerated. Of course any pupil by imitating one writer 
to the exclusion of all others, could in a short time contract 
a most objectionable style. But this plan contemplates 
no such adherence to one man's manner. The influence 
of many styles, of different opportunities for observation, 
and of varying hereditary influences will, in the case of 
each student, produce a characteristic and distinctive 
result. 

The range of subjects which may be treated in the man- 
ner described is as wide as the universe. Macaulay 's *^ Re- 
view of Mitford's History of Greece" may be made the 
basis of a similar review of any other history; his " Conver- 
sation between Cowley and Milton touching the Great 
Civil War " will furnish hints for a conversation between 
Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln, or between William 
Wilson and William M'Kinley. Upon his critique of 
Dante may be based a critique of the Sixth Book of the 
"^neid; " upon his paper on Dryden, a paper on Pope; 
upon his article on the Civil Disabilities of the Jews, an 
essay on the Civil Disabilities of Women; upon his bio- 
graphy of Frederic, a biography of Napoleon or Alexan- 
der; and upon his letters and journals, letters and journals 
descriptive of the pupil's own thoughts and acts. Bos- 
well's biography of Johnson will show the learner how to 



SUGGESTIONS FOB TEACHERS AND STUDENTS xxxi 

report the substance of a conversation. Webster's Bunker 
Hill Monument oration will inspire an oration upon the 
Soldier's Monument in Detroit or the statue of Lincoln in 
Chicago. Macaulay's report of the speech of Burke at 
the trial of Warren Hastings will show in what m_anner 
the debate between Webster and Hayne may be effectively 
described. A delightful exercise may be obtained by 
having the class produce portraits from life of people they 
know, basing the work upon the character sketches in the 
prologue to the "Canterbury Tales." The " Laocoon " 
will supply a fund of ideas that may be utilized in review- 
ing Mr. Howells's latest novel. Hawthorne's " Twice- 
Told Tales" will suggest similar transformations of other 
mythological stories. Irving' s " Legend of Sleepy Hol- 
low " will show how any local saga may be worked up into 
a polished and glittering gem. John Burroughs's " Eoof 
Tree" will render the task of criticising the architecture 
of the town in which the pupil lives easy and interesting; 
and his delectable treatise on the woodchuck will enable 
a boy to write an appropriate essay on the house-dog or the 
squirrel. 

There are few books in the English language better fitted 
than Southey's "Life of Nelson" to serve as a basis for 
this sort of composition work. The .purity of the diction, 
the simplicity of the style, the freedom of the work from 
mannerisms, and the exquisite taste of the author, which 
equally eschews what is turgid and what is mean, make it 
at once one of the easiest and one of the safest of model's. 
It is often possible to imitate the author's methods directly; 
his description of the battle of the Nile will show the learner 
how to describe the battle of Lake Erie, for example. 
Oftener still his statements will inspire a line of reflection 
which may with profit be worked up into a commentary on 
the text or a digression from it; for instance, the justice of 
his estimate of Napoleon may well furnish material for 
investigation and debate. Suggestions along these lines and 
some others will be found scattered throughout the notes. ^ 

^ The student is advised, as a matter of practical advantage, when 
making the first draft of a composition, to write on small slips of 
paper, one sentence to a slip. The processes of revision, excision, 
and amplification are stripped by this simple expedient of half their 
terrors. 



xxxii SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDEN'TS 

A trial of tlie principle contended for will reveal many 
advantages which the necessary limits of the present dis- 
cussion make it imperative to dismiss with mere mention. 
It makes the pupil compose with his eye on the object. It 
teaches the secrets of artistic writing. It refines instead of 
degrading his ideas. It shows him how to think. It re- 
moves the temptation^ nay, the possibility, of his being 
dishonest. It causes him to read critically, to observe 
accurately, and to describe with jDrecision. It makes him 
intolerant of slipshod work of any kind. It causes him to 
take an interest in the higher possibilities of the language. 
Best of all, it teaches him not only how to write well, but 
also how to read well ; it improves his powers of expression, 
and at the same time shows him a thousand subtle charms 
and artistic allurements, the existence of which he never 
dreamed of before, and the full effect of which mere read- 
ing, however careful, can never reveal. 



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THE 

LIFE OF NELSON 

BY 

BOBEET SOUTHEY, ESQ., LL.D. 

POET LAUREATE, ETC., ETC. 



" Bursting through the gloom 
With radiant glory from thy trophied tomb, 
The sacred splendour of thy deathless name 
Shall grace and guard thy Country's martial fame. 
Far-seen shall blaze the unextinguished ray, 
A mighty beacon, lighting Glory's way; 
With living lustre this proud Land adorn. 
And shine, and save, through ages yet unborn." 

— Ulm and Trafalgar. 



TO 

JOHN WILSON CROKER, ESQ., LL.D., F.R.S., 

SECRETARY OF THE ADMIRALTY; 

WHO, 

BY THE OFFICIAL SITUATION WHICH HE SO ABLY FILLS, 

IS QUALIFIED 

TO APPRECIATE ITS HISTORICAL ACCURACY; 

AND WHO, 

AS A MEMBER OF THE REPUBLIC OF LETTERS, 

IS EQUALLY QUALIFIED 

TO DECIDE UPON ITS LITERARY MERITS, 

THIS VOLUME 

IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 

BY HIS FRIEND, 

THE AUTHOR. 



1 



AUTHOK'S NOTE 

Many lives of Nelson" have been written: one is yet 
wanting, clear and concise enongli to become a manual for 
the young sailor, which he may carry about with him, till 
he has treasured up the example in his memory and in his 
heart. In attempting such a work, I shall write the eulogy 
of our great naval Hero; for the best eulogy of Nelsok 
is the faithful history of his actions: the best history, that 
which shall relate them most perspicuously. 



THE LIFE OF NELSON. 



CHAPTER I. 

Nelson's Birth and Boyhood — He is entered on board the Raison- 
noble — Goes to the West Indies in a Merchant-ship ; then serves in 
the Triumph — He sails in Captain Phipp's Voyage of Discovery — Goes 
to the East Indies in the Seahorse, and returns in ill Health — Serves 
as acting Ijientenant in the Worcester, and is made Lieutenant into 
the Loivestoffe, Commander into the Badger Brig, and Post into the 
ITinchinbrook — Expedition against the Spanish Main — Sent to the 
North Seas in the Albemarle — Services during the American War. 

Horatio/ son of Edmund and Catherine Nelson, was 
born September 29, 1758, in the parsonage-liouse of Burn- 
ham-Thorpe,^ a village in the county of Norfolk, of whicli 
his father was rector. The maiden name of his mother 
was Suckling: her grandmother was an elder sister of Sir 
Robert Walpole,^ and this child was named after his god- 

^ The introduction to a composition should serve as a sort of bridge 
from the mind of the reader to the subject in hand. When the 
subject is of universal interest, as Nelson was when this book 
appeared, no preliminary remarks are needed. The student of 
composition should examine the introductory paragraphs of several 
biographies. Those of Boswell's Johnson, Trevelyan's Macaulay, 
Froude's Cmsar, and McMaster's Fr'anhlin are suggested. After he 
has done this, he should try his hand at composing an introduction 
for a biography. 

^ The student should supply himself with a cheap outline map of 
the world, and fill in on it, as his reading of the book progresses, all 
the places mentioned, with references to the pages of the text, draw- 
ing lines to represent Nelson's various movements from place to 
place. A railway or steamship "folder," which can be obtained 
free, will serve admirably for this purpose. 

^ Sir Robert Walpole (1676-1757), first Earl of Orford, was the 
head of the Whig party for more than twenty years. His youngest 
son, Horace Walpole, fourth Earl of Orford (1717-1797), was famous 
as a literary amateur. One of his novels, the Castle of Otranto, is 



6 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1770 

father^ tlie first ^ Lord AValpole. Mrs. Nelson died in 1767, 
leaving eight out of eleven children. Her brother, Cap- 
tain Maurice Suckling,^ of the Navy/ visited the widower 
upon this event, and promised to take care of one of the 
boys. Three years afterwards, when Horatio was only 
twelve years of age, being at home during the Christmas 
holidays, he read m the county newspaper that his uncle 
was appointed to the B^aisonnahle, of sixty-four guns. 
'^Do, William," said he to a brother who was a year and 
a half older than himself, "write to my father and tell 
him that I should like to go to sea with uncle Maurice." 
Mr. Nelson was then at Bath,^ Avhither he had gone for 
the recovery of his health : his circumstances were strait- 
ened, and he had no prospect of ever seeing them bettered : 
he knew that it was the wish of providing for himself by 
which Horatio was chiefly actuated; and did not oppose 
his resolution: he understood also the boy's character, 

remarkable as having been the first attempt made to base a work of 
fiction upon the mediaeval tales of chivalry. Macaulay's Essay on 
the Earl of Chatham and his review of Horace Walpole's Letters to 
Sir Horace 3Iann contain much interesting gossip concerning these 
men. 

^ Sonthey must have meant the second Lord Walpole, as an exami- 
nation of the dates will show. 

^ The Suckling family, like that of the Walpoles, was a famous 
one. One member of it was Secretary of State to James I. His son 
was the poet. Sir John (1609-1641), the wittiest gallant, the most 
reckless gambler, the best bowler and card-player of his day. 

^The English navy in 1760 consisted of 412 ships of 321,104 tons. 
For its history and organization consult the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 
and W. Clark Eussell, Life of Nelson, p. 317. At this period 
first-rate battle-ships registered from 1,814 to 2,508 tons, and car- 
ried from 90 to 120 guns on three decks. Second-rates, in Nel- 
son's day, had ceased to exist ; third-rates carried from 64 to 80 
guns, had two decks, and ranged from 1,342 to 2,143 tons ; fourth- 
rates, also two-deckers, carried from 50 to 60 guns, and ranged from 
912 to 1,226 tons ; fifth-rates, known as frigates, had one deck, 
carried from 32 to 44 guns, and ranged from 704 to 1,376 tons. The 
standard battle-ship carried 74 guns. There were also numerous 
lighter vessels. In general, British vessels were inferior to French 
and Spanish ships of the same class. For example, a certain French 
80 threw a broadside weighing 1,287 pounds, while that of a British 
98 threw only 1,012 pounds. 

* In the eighteenth century Bath became the most famous watering- 
place in England. It has often been mentioned in literature ; 
the student will remember Pickwick and the Virginians in this 
connection. 



1770] THE LIFE OF NELSON 7 

and had always said, that iu whatever station he might 
be placed, he would climb, if possible, to the very top of 
the tree. Accordingly Captain Suckling was written to. 
"What," said he in his answer, "has poor Horatio done, 
who is so weak, that he, above all the rest, should be sent 
to rough it out at sea ? — But let him come, and the first 
time we go into action a cannon-ball may knock oif his 
head, and provide for him at once. ' ' 

It is manifest from these words, that Horatio w^as not 
the boy whom his uncle would have chosen to bring up in 
his own profession. He was never of a strong body; and 
the ague, which at that time was one of the most common 
diseases in England, had greatly reduced his strength; yet 
he had already given proofs of that resolute heart and no- 
bleness of mind, which, during his whole career of labour 
and of glory, so eminently distinguished him. When a 
mere child, he strayed a bird's-nesting from his grand- 
mother's house in company with a cowboy: the dinner- 
hour elapsed ; he was absent, and could not be found ; and 
the alarm of the family became very great, for they apjore- 
hended that he might have been carried off by gipsies. At\ 
length, after search had been made for him in various direc- ' 
tions, he was discovered alone, sitting composedly by the 
side of a brook which he could not get over. "I wonder, j 
child," said the old lady when she saw him, "that hun- 
ger and fear did not drive you home." — "Fear! grand- , 
mamma," replied the future hero, "I never saw fear: — / 
What is it?" Once, after the winter holidays, when he 
and his brother William had set oif on horseback to return 
to school, they came back because there had been a fall of 
snow; and William, who did not much like the journey, 
said it was too deep for them to venture on. " If that be 
the case," said the father, " you certainly shall not go: but 
make another attempt, and I will leave it to your honour. 
If the road is dangerous, you may return : but remember, 
boys, I leave it to your honour." The snow was deep 
enough to have afforded them a reasonable excuse: but 
Horatio was not to be prevailed upon to turn back. " We 
must go on," said he: " remember, brother, it was left to 
our honour! " — There were some fine pears growing in the 
schoolmaster's garden, which the boys regarded as lawful 
booty; but the boldest among them were afraid to venture 



8 THE LIFE OF NELSON [It^O 

for the prize. Horatio volunteered upon this service : he 
was lowered down at night from the bedroom window by 
some sheets, plundered the tree, was drawn up with the 
pears, and then distributed them among his schoolfellows 
without reserving any for himself. — " He only took them," 
he said, " because every other boy was afraid." ^ 

Early on a cold and dark spring morning Mr. Nelson's 
servant arrived at this school,^ at North Walsham, with 
the expected summons for Horatio to join his ship.^ The 
parting from his brother William, who had been for so 
many years his playmate and bed-fellow, was a painful effort, 
and was the beginning of those privations which are the 
sailor's lot through life. He accompanied his father to 
London. The RaisonnaUe was lying in the Medway. He 
was put into the Chatham stage, and on its arrival was 
set down with the rest of the passengers, and left to find 
his way on board as he could. After wandering about in 
the cold without being able to reach the ship, an officer 
observed the forlorn appearance of the boy; questioned 
him; and, happening to be acquainted with his uncle, took 
him home, and gave him some refreshments. When he 
got on board. Captain Suckling was not in the ship, nor 
had any person been apprised of the boy's coming. He 
paced the deck the whole remainder of the day, without 
being noticed by any one; and it was not till the second 
day that somebody, as he expressed it, "took compassion 
on him." The pain which is felt when we are first trans- 

^ Have such anecdotes as these any literary value ? Do they 
arouse your interest ? Do they cause you to wish to read further ? 
What is the reason for introducing sucli trivial details into a serious 
biography ? Do you suppose that these things really happened ? 
Could they have originated as family jokes ? See page 7 of Mr. J. 
K. Laughton's excellent Life of Nelson in the " English Men of 
Action " series. 

"^ Notice how this word produces a connection between this para- 
graph and the preceding one. Study Macaulay's method of pro- 
ducing paragraph sequences. Then, as an exercise, manufacture 
sequences for some of the paragraphs in the morning newspaper. 

^" He was a thorough clergyman's son," wrote his chaplain, Dr. 
Scott, in after years, somewhat ambiguously, as Clark Russell says. 
" I should think he never went to bed or got up without kneeling 
down and saying his prayers." One of his schoolfellows remembered 
him as a lad who wore a green coat, and labored at the market 
pump that he might sail paper boats in the gutter. 



1772] THE LIFE OF NELSON 9 

planted from our native soil, when the living branch is cut 
from the parent tree, is one of the most poignant which 
we have to endure through life. There are after griefs 
which wound more deeply, which leave behind them scars 
never to be effaced, which bruise the spirit and sometimes 
break the heart : but never do we feel so keenly the want 
of love, the necessity of being loved, and the sense of utter 
desertion, as when we first leave the haven of home, and 
are, as it were, pushed off upon the stream of life. Added 
to these feelings, the sea-boy has to endure j^hysical hard- 
ships, and the privation of every comfort, even of sleep. 
Nelson had a feeble body and an affectionate heart, and he 
remembered through life his first days of wretchedness in 
the service. 1 

The Raisonnahle having been commissioned on account of 
the dispute respecting the Falkland Islands,^ was paid off as 
soon as that difference with the court of Spain was accommo- 
dated, and Oa^Dtain Suckling was removed to the Triumioli, 
seventy-four, then stationed as a guardship ^ in the Thames. 
This was considered as too inactive a station for a boy, and 
Nelson was therefore sent a voyage to the West Indies in 
a merchant-ship, commanded by Mr. John Eathbone, an 
excellent seaman, who had served as Master's mate under 
Captain Suckling in the Dreadnouglit. He returned a 
practical seaman, but with a hatred of the king's service, 
and a saying then common among the sailors — "Aft the 
most honour, forward the better mam>v' Eathbone had 
probably been disappointed and disgusted in the Navy; 
and, with no unfriendly intentions, warned Nelson against 
a profession which he himself had found hopeless. His 
uncle received him on board the Triumpli on his return; 
and discovering his dislike to the navy, took the best 

^ Is the conclusion to this paragraph as satisfactory as if it had 
been more definite ? Do you think it is susceptible of improvement? 
If so, try to improve it. 

"^ The Falkland Islands were given up to England in 1771 by the 
Spaniards. See Massey's England, chap. xxii. ; Stanhope's England, 
chap. xlvi. ; Mahan, Influence of Sea-Poiver upon History, p. 335 ; 
Laughton, Nelson, p. 7. 

^ A vessel of war appointed to superintend marine affairs in a 
harbor or river, to see that the ships not in commission have their 
proper watch kept, by sending boats about them each night, and, in 
time of war, to receive impressed seamen. 



10 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1773 

means of reconciling him to it. He held it out as a reward^, 
that if he attended well to his navigation he should go in 
the cutter ^ and decked long-boat ^ which was attached to 
the commanding officer's ship at Chatham.^ Thus he 
became a good pilot for vessels of that description^ from 
Chatham to the Tower/ and down the Swin^ Channel to 
the ISTorth Foreland;, and acquired a confidence among 
rocks and sands, of which he often felt the value. ^ 

JSTelson had not been many months on board the Tri- 
umph when his love of enterprise was excited by hearing 
that two ships were fitting out for a voyage of discovery 
toward the North Pole. In consequence of the difficulties 
which were expected on such a service, these vessels were 
to take out effective men instead of the usual number of 
boys. This, however, did not deter him from soliciting to 
be received, and by his uncle's interest "^ he was admitted 
as coxswain ^ under Captain Lutwidge, second in command. 
The voyage Avas undertaken in compliance with an applica- 

^ A single- masted vessel with fore-and-aft main-sail. So called 
from its sharp lines, 

^ A large ship's boat, often from thirty to forty feet long. 

^ Why was this an inducement ? 

^ The Tower of London, the Thames being spanned by bridg^es 
above that point. 

^ The most important of the northern channels at the mouth of the 
Thames. Southey makes a mistake in his geography. Discover it 
by consulting a map. 

^ The life of a sailor at this time was anything but an enviable 
one. He had probably been persuaded to enter it by the bludgeons 
of a press-gang. The pay was small. The biscuits were hard as 
adamant. The beef, familiarly and not affectionately known as 
salt junk, was enough to corrode the soul of a patriot on fire with 
enthusiasm. But Jack was not a patriot. He was a slave. The 
slightest infraction of discipline was punished with cruel blows. 
The ships were not only cheerless, but vermin-ridden and foul from 
bilge-water. There was nothing to drink but grog, it being im- 
possible with the means then employed to keep a supply of fresh 
water for any length of time, and coffee and tea not yet having been 
introduced. Disease carried off ten men where one fell in battle. 
In later years Nelson did much to ameliorate these dreadful con- 
ditions ; and his efforts in this direction undoubtedly contributed in 
no small degree to his popularity and his fame. 

'' Influence. 

** The officei' in charge of the captain's barge. Like the master and 
boatswain, he carried a whistle. The word " cog," from which cox- 
swain is derived, meant originally a " ship," later a "boat." 



1773] te:e life of nelson 11 

tion from the Koyal Society.^ Captain the Hon. Constan- 
tine John Phipps^, eldest son of Lord Mulgrave, volunteered 
his services. The Racehorse and Carcass bombs ^ were se- 
lected^ as the strongest ships,, and therefore best adapted 
for such a voyage; and they were taken into dock and 
strengthened to render them as secure as possible against 
the ice. Two masters of Greenlandmen were employed as 
pilots for each ship. No expedition^ was ever more care- 
fully fitted out; and the First Lord of the Admiralty, 
Lord Sandwich, with a laudable solicitude, went on board 
himself before their departure, to see that everything had 
been completed to the wish of the officers. The ships were 
provided with a simple and excellent apparatus for distill- 
ing fresh from salt water, the invention of Dr. Irving, who 
accompanied the expedition. It consisted merely of fitting 
a tube to the ship's kettle,^ and applying a wet mop to the 
surface, as the vapour was passing. By these means, from 
thirty-four to forty gallons were produced every day. 
They sailed from the ISTore ^ on the 4th of June : on the 

^ The Royal Society for Improving Natural Knowledge was founded 
in 1660. It has ever since performed magnificent service in the further- 
ance of that object. Owing to the long list of great men on its rolls 
and its close official connection with the British government, it still 
occupies a foremost place among British scientific organizations. 
Some of the subjects to which the Society has directed its attention 
are standard measures of length, arctic exploration, the best manner 
of measuring tonnage in ships, gas-works, lightning-conductors, 
Babbage's calculating-machine, and innumerable astronomical and 
geological researches. It has at its disposal extensive funds for pro- 
moting research, and several medals as rewards for eminent merit 
in science and philosophy. Of these the Rumford, Copley, and 
Davy medals are best known. The most famous name on its rolls is 
that of Sir Isaac Newton. 

^ Bombs, vessels on which mortars were mounted, mortars being 
used to throw bombs. 

^ "It was conjectured that our former navigators had kept too 
near land, and so had found the sea frozen far north, because the 
land hinders the free motion of the tide ; but in the wide ocean, 
where the waves tumble at their full convenience, it is imagined 
that the frost does not take effect."— Boswell, Life of Johnson, 
ch. xxxix. The voyage was for the purpose of finding a north-east 
passage, a feat not performed until 1878-80, when Baron Norden- 
skjold in the Vega accomplished it. 

* The large kettle used for cooking the crew's food. Called 
" copper" in the American navy. 

^ A lighthouse nearly east of Sheerness, and southeast of Southend. 



12 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1773 

6th of the following month they were in latitude 79 ° 56 ' 
39"; longitude 9 ° 43 ' 30 " E. The next day, about the 
place where most of the old discoverers had been stopped, 
the Racehorse was beset with ice; but they hove her through 
with ice-anchors.^ Captain Phipps continued ranging 
along the ice northward and westward till the 24th; he 
then tried to the eastward. On the 30th he was in lati- 
tude 80° 13 7 longitude 18° 48' E., among the islands 
and in the ice, with no appearance of an opening for the 
ships. The weather was line, mild, and unusually clear. 
Here they were becalmed in a large bay, with three appa- 
rent openings between the islands which formed it; but 
everywhere, as far as they could, see, surrounded with ice. 
There was not a breath of air, the water was perfectly 
smooth, the ice covered with snow, low and even, except a 
few broken ^^ieces near the edge ; and the pools of water in 
the middle of the ice-fields just crusted over with young 
ice. On the next day the ice closed upon them, and no 
opening was to be seen anywhere, except a hole, or lake, 
as it might be called, of about a mile and a half in cir- 
cumference, where the ships lay fast to the ice with their 
ice-anchors. They filled their casks with water from these 
ice-fields, which was very pure and soft. The men were 
playing on the ice all day; but the Greenland pilots, who 
were further than they had ever been before, and con- 
sidered that the season was far advancing, were alarmed 
at being thus beset. ^ 

The next day there was not the smallest opening, the 
ships were within less than two lengths of each other, 
separated by ice, and neither having room to turn. The 
ice, which the day before had been flat, and almost level 

^ An S-shaped bar of round iron, sharpened at the point of its 
longer curve. A hawser is attached to the shorter curve, and the 
anchor holds by the sharpened point, being inserted in a hole made 
for the purpose or in a crevice. 

"^ The highest latitude yet reached, 83° 24' 0", was attained by 
Lieutenant Lockwood of Greely's party, in 1884. The highest lati- 
tude reached previous to the attempt mentioned in the test was in 
1607 by Hudson, who went as far as 80° 23' 0". 

'"* The student should endeavor to get a definite picture from this 
description, and try to see why it is effective and clear. Then, as an 
exercise, he should write a description of some winter scene from his 
own observation. 



1773] THE LIFE OF NELSON 13 

with the water's edge, was now in many places forced 
higher than the mainyard/ by the pieces squeezing to- 
gether. A day of thick fog followed : it was succeeded by 
clear weather, but the passage by which the ships had en- 
tered from the westward was closed, and no open water 
was in sight, either in that or any other quarter. By the 
pilots' advice the men were set to cut a passage, and warp 
through the small openings to the westward. They sawed 
through pieces of ice twelve feet thick, and this labour 
continued the whole day, during which their utmost efforts 
did not move the ships above three hundred yards; while 
they were driven, together with the ice, far to the N.E. 
and E. by the current. Sometimes a field of several acres 
square would be lifted up between two larger islands, and 
incorporated with them; and thus these larger pieces con- 
tinued to grow by aggregation.^ Another day passed, and 
there seemed no probability of getting the ships out, with- 
out a strong E. or N.E. wind. The season was far ad- 
vanced, and every hour lessened the chance of extricating 
themselves. Young as he was, Nelson was appointed to 
command one of the boats which were sent out to explore 
a passage into the open water. It was the means of saving 
a boat belonging to the Racehorse from a singular but im- 
minent danger. Some of the officers had fired at and 
wounded a walrus. As no other animal has so human-like 
an expression in its countenance, so also is there none that 
seems to possess more of the passions of humanity. The 
wounded animal dived immediately, and brought up a 
number of its companions; and they all joined in an at- 
tack upon the boat. They wrested an oar from one of the 
men; and it was with the utmost difficulty that the crew 
could prevent them from staving or upsetting her, till 
the Carcass's boat came up: and the walruses, finding 
their enemies thus reinforced, dispersed. Young Nelson 
exposed himself in a more daring manner. One night, 
during the mid-watch,^ he stole from the ship with one of 

^ How high"? As high as the Herald Building in New York ? 
Form the habit of testing figures by applying them to some object 
familiar to you. 

"^Aggregation, from the Latin ad, "to," &:n.di grex, "herd." Does 
this information add to the clearness of the image that the word pro- 
duces ? If so, why ? 

^ Mid-watch, from midnight till 4 a. m. The watches are divided 



14 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1773 

his comrades, taking advantage of a rising fog, and set out 
over the ice in pursuit of a bear. It was not long be- 
fore they were missed. The fog thickened, and Captain 
Lutwidge and his officers became exceedingly alarmed for 
their safety. Between three and four in the morning the 
weather cleared, and the two adventurers were seen, at a 
considerable distance from the ship, attacking a huge bear. 
The signal for them to return was immediately made : ISTel- 
son's comrade called upon him to obey it, but in vain; 
his musket had flashed in the pan; their ammunition was 
expended; and a chasm in the ice, which divided him from 
the bear, probably preserved his life. "Never mind," he 
cried; "do but let me get a blow at this devil with the 
butt-end of my musket, and we shall have him." Captain 
Lutwidge, however, seeing his danger, fired a gun, which 
had the desired effect of frightening the beast; and the 
boy then returned, somewhat afraid of the consequences of 
his trespass. The captain reprimanded him sternly for 
conduct so unworthy of the office which he filled, and de- 
sired to know what motive he could have for hunting a 
bear. " Sir," said he, pouting his lip, as he was wont to 
do when agitated, " I wished to kill the bear^ that I might 
carry the skin to my father. ' ' ^ 

A party were now sent to an island, about twelve miles 
off (named Walden's Island in the chart, from the mid- 
shipman who was intrusted with this service), to see where 
the open water lay. They came back with information 
that the ice, though close all about them, was open to the 
westward, round the point by which they came in. They 
said also, that upon the island they had had a fresh east 
wind . This intelligence considerably abated the hopes of the 
crew, for where they lay it had been almost calm, and their 
main dependence had been upon the effect of an easterly 
wind in clearing the bay. There was but one alternative, 
either to wait the event of the weather upon the ships, or 

thus : from 8 p. m. till 12 midnight ; from 12 midnight till 4 a. m. ; 
from 4 a. m. till 8 a, m. ; from 8 a. m. till noon ; from noon till 4 p. m. ; 
from 4 p. M. till 6 p. m. ; from 6 p. m. till 8 p. m. The two short 
watches are for the purpose of shifting the periods of duty. 

^ What is the literary value of such details ? Notice how carefully 
the climax is reserved until the end. As an exercise turn an anecdote 
into the best literary form you can, observing the principle of climax 
with all the care possible. 



1773] THE LIFE OF NELSON I5 

to betake themselves to the boats. The likelihood that it 
might be necessary to sacrifice the ships had been foreseen; 
the boats, accordingly, were adapted, both in number and 
size, to transport, in case of emergency, the whole crew; 
and there were Dutch whalers upon the coast, in which 
they could all be conveyed to Europe. As for wintering 
where they were, that dreadful experiment had been al- 
ready tried too often. No time was to be lost; the ships 
had driven into shoal water, having but fourteen fathoms. 
Should they, or the ice to which they were fast, take the 
ground, they must inevitably be lost: and at this time 
they were driving fast towards some rocks on the N.E. 
Captain Phipps had sent for the officers of both ships, and 
told them his intention of preparing the boats for going 
away. They were immediately hoisted out, and the fitting 
begun. Canvas bread-bags were made, in case it should 
be necessary suddenly to desert the vessels; and men were 
sent with the lead and line to the northward and east- 
ward, to sound wherever they found cracks in the ice, that 
they might have notice before the ice took the ground; for, 
in that case, the ships must have instantly been crushed or 
overset. 

On the 7th of August they began to haul the boats over 
the ice, Nelson having command of the four-oared cutter. 
The men behaved excellently well, like true British sea- 
men: they seemed reconciled to the thought of leaving the 
ships, and had full confidence in their officers. About noon, 
the ice appeared rather more open near the vessels; and 
as the wind was easterly, though there was but little of it, 
the sails were set, and they got about a mile to the west- 
ward. They moved very slowly, and were not now nearly 
so far to the westward as when they were first beset. How- 
ever, all sail was kept upon them, to force them through 
whenever the ice slacked the least. Whatever exertions 
were made, it could not be possible to get the boats to the 
water's edge before the 14th; and if the situation of the 
ships should not alter by that time, it would not be justifiable 
to stay longer by them. The Commander therefore resolved 
to carry on both attempts together, moving the boats con- 
stantly, and taking every opportunity of getting the ships 
through. A joarty was sent out next day to the westward, 
to examine the state of the ice : they returned with tidings 



16 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1773 

that it was very heavy and close^ consisting chiefly of large 
fields. The ships, however, moved something, and the ice 
itself was drifting westward. There was a thick fog, so 
that it was impossible to ascertain what advantage had 
been gained. It continued on the 9th; but the ships were 
moved a little through some very small openings: the mist 
cleared off in the afternoon; and it was then perceived 
that they had driven much more than con Id have been 
expected to the westward, and that the ice itself had driven 
still farther. In the course of the day they got past the 
boats, and took them on board again. On the morrow the 
wind sprang up to the N.JN'.E. All sail was set, and the 
ships forced their way through a great deal of very heavy 
ice. They frequently struck, and with such force, that one 
stroke broke the shank of the Raceliorse's best bower 
anchor : ^ but the vessels made way ; and by noon they had 
cleared the ice, and were out at sea. The next day they 
anchored in Smeerenberg Harbour, close to that island of 
which the westernmost point is called Hakluyt's Headland, 
in honour of the great promoter and compiler of our Eng- 
lish voyages of discovery.^ 

Here they remained for a few days, that the men might 
rest after their fatigue. No insect was to be seen in this 
dreary country, nor any species of reptile, not even the 
common earthworm.^ Large bodies of ice, called icebergs,* 
filled up the valleys between high mountains, so dark, as, 
when contrasted with the snow, to appear black. The colour 

^ The anchor at the bow of the ship. The shank is that part of 
the anchor between the stock or cross-piece and the arms or fluke. 

^ Richard Hakluyt (1553-1616) wrote the works which contain prac- 
tically all the information we have concerning English naval matters 
prior to his day. The title of his great compilation is The Princi- 
pal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English 
Nation, made hy Sea or over Land, to the Remote and Farthest 
Distant Quarters of the Earth, within the Compass of these 1500 
Years. It fills three volumes and contains accounts of 220 voyages. 
The first volume is devoted to voyages to the north and northeast, 
to Iceland, and to the defeat of the Spanish Armada; the second to 
voyages to the south and southwest ; the third to voyages to North 
America, the West Indies, and around the world. 

^ Is this a mere trivial detail? If not, why is it introduced? 
What is the secret of its effect ? 

* Do you infer from the insertion of this phrase that "iceberg" 
was a familiar word when the book was written ? 



1776] THE LIFE OF NELSON 17 

of tlie ice was a lively light green. Opposite to the place 
where they had fixed their observatory was one of these 
icebergs^ above three hundred feet high : ^ its side towards 
the sea was nearly perpendicular, and a stream of water 
issued from it. Large pieces frequently broke off, and 
rolled down into the sea. There was no thunder nor light- 
ning during the whole time they were in these latitudes. 
The sky was generally loaded with hard white clouds, from 
which it was never entirely free, even in the clearest wea- 
ther. They always knew when they were approaching 
the ice, long before they saw it, by a bright appearance 
near the horizon, which the Greenlandmen called the blink 
of the ice. The season was now so far advanced that 
nothing more could have been attempted, if, indeed, any- 
thing had been left untried: but the summer had been 
unusually favourable, and they had carefully surveyed the 
wall of ice extending for more than twenty degrees^ be- 
tween the latitudes of 80 ° and 81 °, without the smallest 
appearance of any opening. 

The ships were paid off shortly after their return to 
England; and kelson was then placed by his uncle with 
Captain Farmer, in the Seahorse, of twenty guns, then 
going out to the East Indies in the squadron under Sir 
Edward Hughes. He was stationed in the foretop at 
watch and watch. ^ His good conduct attracted the atten- 
tion of the Master (afterwards Captain Surridge), in whose 
watch he was ; and, upon his recommendation, the Captain 
rated him as Midshipman.^ At this time his countenance 
was florid, and his appearance rather stout and athletic: 
but when he had been about eighteen months in India he 
felt the effects of that chmate, so perilous to European 
constitutions.^ The disease baffled all power of medicine; 

^ Would it have been more effective to have said "twice as high 
as the FaUs of Niagara"? 

^ " As far as from Buffalo to Xew York" would have conveyed to 
us a far more definite image. Notice the effectiveness of employing 
concrete rather than abstract terms. 

^ "By which we are to tal^e it that he embarked as a foremast 
hand." — W. Clark Russell, Nelson, p. 11. 

* The higher of the two grades of petty officers under instruction 
on shipboard ; the other grade is naval cadet. On promotion the 
midshipman becomes sub-lieutenant. 

^ During his stay in India he travelled extensively ; he said himself 
that his wanderings extended from Bengal to Bussorah (Basra). 

3 



18 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1776 

lie was reduced almost to a skeleton; the use of his limbs 
was for some time entirely lost; and the only hope tliat 
remained was from a voyage home. Accordingly he was 
brought home by Captain Pigot^ in the Doljjhin ; and had 
it not been for the attentive and careful kindness of that 
officer on the way, Nelson would never have lived to reach 
his native shores. He had formed an acquaintance with 
Sir Charles Pole, Sir Thomas Troubridge/ and other dis- 
tinguished officers, then, like himself, beginning their 
career: he had left them pursuing that career in full enjoy- 
ment of health and hope, and was returning from a coun- 
try in which all things were to him new and interesting, 
with a body broken down by sickness, and spirits which had 
sunk with his strength. Long afterwards, when the name 
of Nelson was known as widely as that of England itself, 
he spoke of the feelings which he at this time endured. 
'' I felt impressed," said he, " with a feeling that I should 
never rise in my profession. My mind was staggered with 
a view of the difficulties I had to surmount, and the little 
interest I possessed. I could discover no means of reach- 
ing the object of my ambition.^ After a long and gloomy 
reverie, in which I almost wished myself overboard, a sud- 
den glow of patriotism was kindled within me, and pre- 
sented my King and country as my patron. ' Well then,' 
I exclaimed, 'I will be a hero! and, confiding in Provi- 
dence, brave every danger! ' " 

Long afterwards, Nelson loved to speak of the feeling 
of that moment: and from that time, he often said, a 

The British occupation of India is a good subject for research and 
composition. Not a few great English writers have been connected 
in one way and another with that country. Thackeray was born 
there. Two of Macaulay's most brilliant essays are based on Indian 
history. The beginnings of the great science of comparative phi- 
lology are one fruit of the British conquest. 

^ Troubridge is one of the heroic figures of English naval history. 
He served with great distinction under Lord Howe, and was made 
a baronet in 1799. His name will recur often in the pages that 
follow. He sailed for the Cape of Good Hope in the Blenheim in 
1807 and was never heard of again. Let some pupil make an induc- 
tive study of his actions as recorded in this book, write an essay, and 
report his results to the class. 

^ Ambition, from the Latin amhulare, "to walk," because Roman 
aspirants for political honors were wont to walk about soliciting 
votes. 



1777] THE LIFE OF NELSON 19 

radiant orb was suspended in his mind's eye, which urged 
him onward to renown. The state of mind in which these 
feelings began, is what the mystics ^ mean by their season 
of darkness and desertion. If the animal spirits fail, they 
represent it as an actual temptation. The enthusiasm of 
Nelson's nature had taken a dift'erent direction, but its es- 
sence was the same. He knew to what the previous state 
of dejection w^as to be attributed; that an enfeebled body, 
and a mind depressed, had cast this shade over his soul: 
but he always seemed willing to believe, that the sunshine 
which succeeded bore with it a prophetic glory, and that 
the light which led him on was " light from heaven." ^ 

His interest, however, was far better than he imagined. 
During his absence Captain Suckling had been made 
Comptroller of the Navy;^ his health had materially 
improved upon the voyage; and, as soon as the DoljjMn 
was paid off, he was appointed iVcting Lieutenant in the 
Worcester, sixty-four. Captain Mark Kobinson, then going- 
out with convoy to Gibraltar. Soon after his return, on 
the 8tli of April, 1777, he passed his examination for a lieu- 
tenant. Captain Suckling sat at the head of the board; 
and when the examination had ended, in a manner highly 
honourable to Nelson, rose from his seat, and introduced 
him to the examining captains as his nephew. They ex- 
pressed their wonder that he had not informed them of this 
relationship before; he replied, that he did not wish the 
younker to be favoured; he knew his nephew would pass a 
good examination, and he had not been deceived > The 
next day Nelson received his commission as Second Lieu- 

' Those who hold that impulse and not reason should lie at the 
base of faith. 

^ " Light from heaven " is taken from Burns's Vision. The Muse 
addresses the poet thus : 

" I saw thy pulse's maddening play, 

I Wild send thee Pleasure's devious way, 

/ Misled by Fancy's meteor ray, 

! By passion driven ; 

\ But yet the light that led astray 

V Was light from Heaven." 

^ Examiner of accounts ; pronounced "controller." 
* His certificate says, "He can splice, knot, reef a sail, etc., and 
is qualified to do the duty of an Able Seaman and Midshipman." 
In a letter to his brother he called this "taking his M.A. degree." 



20 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1778 

tenant of the Loiuestoffe frigate. Captain William Locker/ 
then fitting out for Jamaica. 

American and French privateers, under American 
colours, were at that time harassing our trade in the 
West Indies: even a frigate was not sufficiently active 
for Nelson, and he repeatedly got appointed to the com- 
mand of one of the Lowestojfe's'^ tenders.^ During one of 
their cruises the Loiuestoffe captured an American letter-of - 
marque:^ it was blowing a gale, and a heavy sea running. 
The First Lieutenant being ordered to board the prize, 
went below to put on his hanger.^ It happened to be mis- 
laid; and, while he was seeking it, Captain Locker came 
on deck. Perceiving the boat still alongside, and in dan- 
ger every moment of being swamped, and being ex- 
tremely anxious that the privateer should be instantly 
taken in charge, because he feared that it would otherwise 
founder, he exclaimed, " Have I no officer in the ship who 
can board the prize ? ' ' Jj^elson did not offer himself im- 
mediately, waiting, with his usual sense of propriety, for 
the First Lieutenant's return: but hearing_the Master^ 
volunteer, he jumped into the boat, saying, '[ It is my turn 
now; and if I come back, it is yours. 'j' The American, 
who had carried a heavy press of sail in' hope of escaping, 
was so completely water-logged, that the Loiuestoffe' s boat 
went in on deck, and out again, with the sea. 

About this time he lost his uncle. Captain Locker, 

^ Captain Locker had served under the great Lord Hawke, who 
may fairly be considered Nelson's predecessor as the darling of the 
English navy, and it is interesting to speculate as to how much of 
Hawke's theories, knowledge, and practice were transmitted through 
Locker to his lieutenant. A comparison of Hawke's life with Nel- 
son's is suggested as a suitable subject for investigation and com- 
position. For Hawke, see Mahan, Lifluerice of Sea Power on His- 
tory, Index. 

"^ The Loivestoffe was named after a naval victory of the English 
over the Dutch June 3, 1665. 

^ A small vessel used to attend a ship. 

* A letter authorizing a private individual to prosecute hostilities 
against a foreign nation. The captain of such a vessel must produce 
his letter of marque or be treated as a pirate. See Cons, of U. S.^ 
Art. i„ See. 8. 

^ A short curved sword. 

^ A petty officer on a man-of-war ; he performs police duty, takes 
charge of prisoners, enforces order on the berth-deck, and has com- 
mand of the ship's corporals. 



17'r9] THE LIFE OF NELSON 21 

however, who had perceived the excellent qualities of Nel- 
son, and formed a friendship for him, which continued 
during his life, recommended him warmly to Sir Peter 
Parker, then Commander-in-Chief upon that station. In 
consequence of this recommendation he was removed into 
the Bristol flag-ship, and Lieutenant Cuthbert Colling- 
wood ^ succeeded him in the Loiuestojfe. He soon became 
First Lieutenant; and, on the 8th of December, 1778, was 
appointed Commander of the Badger brig; Collingwood 
again succeeding him in the Bristol. While the Bad- 
ger was lying in Montego Bay, Jamaica, the Glasgow, of 
twenty guns, came in and anchored there, and in two hours 
was in flames, the steward having set fire to her while 
stealing rum out of the after-hold. Her crew were leaping 
into the water, when Nelson came u|) in his boats, made 
them throw their powder overboard, and point their guns 
upward: and, by his presence of mind and personal ex- 
ertions, prevented the loss of life which would otherwise 
have ensued. On the 11th of June, 1779, he was made 
Post ^ into the Hinclmibrooh,^ of twenty-eight guns, an ene- 
my's merchantman, sheathed with wood, which had been 
taken into the service. A short time after he left the 
Lotvestoffe, that ship, with a small squadron, stormed the 
fort of St. Fernando de Omoa, on the south side of the 
Bay of Honduras, and captured some register ships which 
were lying under its guns. Two hundred and fifty quin- 
tals^ of quicksilver, and three millions of piastres,^ were 
the reward of this enterprise: and it is characteristic of 
Nelson, that the chance by which he missed a share in such 
a prize is never mentioned in any of his letters; nor is it 
likely that it ever excited even a momentary feeling of 
vexation. 

^Collingwood, equally with Troubridge, makes a heroic figure 
in British naval annals. He served in the battle of Bunker Hill 
and in Lord Howe's victory over the French in 1794. In 1799 he 
was made rear-admiral, in 1804 vice-admiral, and after the battle of 
Trafalgar a peer. He died at sea in 1810. Like Troubridge, also, he 
is one of the conspicuous figures of this book, where his actions make 
an admirable subject for inductive study. 

^ Post captain ; i. e., full captain. 

^ The Hinchinbrook was named after Lord Sandwich's country seat. 

^ A quintal (Latin centum, a hundredweight) is 100 or 112 pounds. 

^A Spanish piastre is about one dollar. 



22 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1779 

ISTelson was fortunate in possessing good interest at the 
time when it could be most serviceable to him : his promo- 
tion had been almost as rapid as it could be ; and before he 
had attained the age of twenty-one/ he had gained that 
rank which brought all the honours of the service within 
his reach. No opportunity^ indeed, had yet been given 
him of distinguishing himself; but he was thoroughly 
master of his profession, and his zeal and ability were 
acknowledged wherever he was known. Count d'Estaing, 
with a fleet ^ of one hundred and twenty-five sail, men-of- 
war and transports, and a reputed force of five-and-twenty 
thousand men, threatened Jamaica from St. Domingo. 
Nelson offered his services to the Admiral and to Governor- 
general Bailing, and was appointed to command the bat- 
teries of Fort Charles at Port Royal. Not more than seven 
thousand men could be mustered for the defence of the 
island, — a number wholly inadequate to resist the force 
which threatened them. Of this Nelson was so well aware, 
that when he wrote to his friends in England, he told them 
they must not be surprised to hear of his learning to speak 
French.^ D'Estaing, however, was either not aware of 
his own superiority, or not equal to the command with 
which he was intrusted: he attempted nothing with this 
formidable armament; and General Bailing was thus left 
to execute a project which he had formed against the 
Spanish colonies. 

This project was, to take Eort San Juan on the river of 
that name, which flows from Lake Nicaragua into the 
Atlantic; make himself master of the lake itself, and of 
the cities of Grenada and Leon; and thus cut off the com- 
munication of the Spaniards between their northern and 
southern possessions in America. Here it is that a Canal 
between the two seas may most easily be formed ; ^ — a work 
more important in its consequences than any which has 

^ Why is it that to-day in the American Navy young men do not so 
soon gain high positions ? Can yon see any reasons why it is good 
for the service to have a man like Nelson in such a place at twenty- 
one ? 

^ The student will remember the part played by this fleet in the 
American history of this period. 

^ What did he mean ? 

^The student should be asked to supply a note on the modern 
aspects of the Nicaragua Canal problem. 



1780] THE LIFE OF NELSON 23 

ever yet been effected by linman power. Lord George 
Germaine, at that time Secretary of State for the Ameri- 
can department, approved the plan: and as discontents 
at that time were known to prevail in the JSTnevo Eeyno,^ 
in Popayan^ and in Peru, the more sanguine ^ part of the 
English began to dream of acquiring an empire in one 
part of America more extensive than that which they were 
on the point of losing in another.^ General Balling's plans 
were well formed; but the history and the nature of the 
country had not been studied as accurately as its geo- 
graphy : the difficulties which occurred in fitting out the 
expedition delayed it till the season was too far advanced; 
and the men were thus sent to adventure themselves, not 
so much against an enemy, whom they would have beaten, 
as against a climate which would do the enemy's work. 

Early in the year 1780, five hundred men, destined for 
this service, were convoyed by ^^Telson from Port Royal to 
Cape Gracias a Dios, in Honduras. Not a native was to 
be seen when they landed: they had been taught that the 
English came Avith no other intent than that of enslaving 
them, and sending them to Jamaica. After a while, how- 
ever, one of them ventured down, confiding in his know- 
ledge of one of the party; and by his means the neigh- 
bouring tribes were conciliated with presents, and brought 
in. The troops were encamped on a swampy and un- 
wholesome plain, where they were joined by a party of the 
79th Regiment, from Black River, who were already in 
a deplorable state of sickness. Having remained here a 
month, they proceeded, anchoring frequently, along the 
Mosquito shore to collect their Indian allies, who were to 
furnish proper boats for the river, and to accompany them. 
They reached the river San Juan March 24th : and here, 
according to his orders, Nelson's services were to terminate; 
but not a man in the expedition had ever been up the river, 
or knew the distances of any fortification from its mouth: 

^ Nuevo Reyno, the old name for Mexico, means "New Spain," or 
" New Realm." Popayan is a city in Colombia. Did Southey mis- 
take it for a state ? 

^ In what sense is sanguine used here ? 

^ Is this a reference to the independence of the United States ? 
Would the fact that the language and race of the people of South 
America are different from those of the British make the realization 
of this dream impossible ? 



^4 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1780 

and he^ not being one who would turn back when so much 
was to be done^, resolved to carry the soldiers up. About 
two hundred, therefore, were embarked in the Mosquito 
shore-craft, and in tvyo of the Hinchinbrook'' s boats, and 
they began their voyage. It was the latter end of the dry 
season, the worst time for such an expedition; the river 
was consequently low: Indians were sent forward through 
narrow channels between shoals and banks, and the men 
were frequently obliged to quit the boats, and exert their 
utmost strength to drag or thrust them along. This labour 
continued for several days, when they came into deeper 
water; they had then currents and rapids to contend with, 
which would have been insurmountable, but for the skill 
of the Indians in such difficulties. The brunt of the 
labour Avas borne by them and by the sailors — men never 
accustomed to stand aloof when any exertion of strength 
or hardihood is required. The soldiers, less accustomed to 
rely upon themselves,^ were of little use. But all equally 
endured the violent heat of the sun rendered more intense 
by being reflected from the white shoals, while the high 
woods on botli sides of the river were frequently so close as 
to prevent all refreshing circulation of air; and during the 
night all were equally exposed to the heavy and unwhole- 
some dews. 

On the 9th of April they reached an island in the river 
called St. Bartolomeo, which the Spaniards had fortified, 
as an out-post, with a small semi-circular battery, mounting 
nine or ten swivels,^ and manned with sixteen or eighteen 
men. It commanded the river in a rapid and difficult 
part of the navigation. Nelson, at the head of a few of 
his seamen, leaped upon the beach. The ground upon 
which he sprung was so muddy, that he had some difficulty 
in extricating himself, and lost his shoes : bare-footed, how- 
ever, he advanced, and, in his own phrase, boarded the 
battery. In this resolute attempt he was bravely supported 
by the well-known Despard,^ at that time a captain in 

^Why are soldiers less self-reliant ? Is it advisable, from a lit- 
erary standpoint, to suggest queries with which the mind of the 
reader will busy itself, or to explain everything completely ? Which 
does Macaulay do ? Browning ? Tennyson ? Shakspere ? 

^ A small cannon mounted so as to turn to the right or left. 

^ Executed in 1803 for conspiring to assassinate George III. 



1780] THE LIFE OF NELSON 25 

the army. The Castle of St. Juan is situated about six- 
teen miles higher up : the stores and ammunition, however, 
were landed a few miles below the castle, and the men had 
to march through woods almost impassable. One of the 
men was bitten under the eye by a snake, which darted 
upon him from the bough of a tree. He was unable to 
proceed from the violence of the pain: and when, after 
a short while, some of his comrades were sent back to 
assist him, he was dead, and the body already putrid. 
Nelson himself narrowly escaped a similar fate. He had 
ordered his hammock to be slung under some trees, being 
excessively fatigued, and was sleeping, when a monitory ^ 
lizard passed across his face. The Indians happily observed 
the reptile, and, knowing what it indicated, awoke him. 
He started up, and found one of the deadliest serpents of 
the country coiled up at his feet. He suffered from poison 
of another kind; for, drinking at a spring in which some 
boughs of the manchineel had been thrown, the effects 
were so severe, as, in the opinion of some of his friends, 
to inflict a lasting injury upon his constitution. 

The Castle of St. Juan is thirty- two miles below the 
Lake of JSTicaragua, from which the river issues, and sixty- 
nine from its mouth. Boats reach the sea from thence in 
a day and a half; but their navigation back, even when 
unladen, is the labour of nine days. The English ap- 
peared before it on the 11th, two days after they had taken 
St. Bartolomeo. Nelson's advice was, that it should 
instantly be carried by assault: but Nelson was not the 
commander; and it was thought proper to observe all the 
formalities of a siege. ^ Ten days were wasted before this 
could be commenced : it was a work more of fatigue than 
of danger; but fatigue was more to be dreaded than 
the enemy; the rains set in: and, could the garrison have 
held out a little longer, disease would have rid them of 
their invaders. Even ^ the Indians sunk under it, the vic- 
tims of unusual exertion, and of their own excesses. The 

^Do not look up the meaning of monitory until you have read the 
sentences following. 

'^ "I want words," wrote Colonel Poison, who commanded the ex- 
pedition, "to express the obhgations I owe Captain Nelson. He 
was the first on every service, whether by night or day. There was 
scarcely a gun but what was pointed by him or Lieutenant Despard." 

^Why "even"? 



26 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1780 

place surrendered on the 24th. But victory procured to 
the conquerors none of that relief which had been expected; 
the Castle was worse than a prison ; and it contained no- 
thing which could contribute to the recovery of the sick, 
or the preservation of those who were yet unaffected. The 
huts, which served for hospitals, were surrounded with filth 
and with the putrefying hides of slaughtered cattle — almost 
sufficient of themselves, to have engendered pestilence : and 
when, at last, orders Avere given to erect a convenient hos- 
pital, the contagion had become so general, that there were 
none who could work at it; for, besides the few who were 
able to perform garrison duty, there were not orderly ^ 
men enough to assist the sick. Added to these evils, there 
was the want of alh needful remedies; for, though the ex- 
pedition had been amply provided with hospital stores, river 
craft enough had not been procured for transporting the 
requisite baggage; and when much was to be left behind, 
provision for sickness was that which of all things men in 
health would be most ready to leave. Now, when these 
medicines were required, the river was swollen, and so tur- 
bulent, that its up ward navigation was almost impracticable. 
At length, even the task of burying the dead was more 
than the living could perform, and the bodies were tossed 
into the stream, or left for beasts of prey, and for the 
gallinazos — those dreadful carrion-birds, which do not al- 
ways wait for death before they begin their work. Five 
months the English persisted in what may be called this 
war against nature; they then left a few men, who seemed 
proof against the climate, to retain the Castle till the Span- 
iards should choose to retake it, and make them prisoners. 
The rest abandoned their baleful conquest. Eighteen hun- 
dred men were sent to different posts upon this wretched 
expedition: not more than three hundred and eighty ever 
returned. The Hinc]iin'broo¥s complement consisted of 
two hundred men; eighty-seven took to their beds in one 
night, and of the whole crew not more than ten survived. 
Nelson himself was saved by a timely removal. In a few 
days after the commencement of the siege, he was seized 
with the prevailing dysentery: meantime Captain Glover 
(son of the author of " Leonidas "^) died, and Nelson was 

^ Orderly means " on duty/' 

^ This was Richard Glover (1712-1785). The poem referred to in 



1781] THE LIFE OF NELSON 27 

appointed to succeed him in the Janus, of forty-four 
guns. He returned to the liarbour the day before St. 
Juan surrendered, and immediately sailed for Jamaica in 
the sloop which brought the news of his appointment. 
He was, however, so greatly reduced by the disorder, that 
when they reached Port Royal he was carried ashore in his 
cot; and finding himself, after a partial amendment, un- 
able to retain the command of his new ship, he was com- 
pelled to ask leave to return to England, as the only means 
of recovery. Captain (afterwards Admiral) Oornwallis^ 
took him home in the Lion ; and to his care and kindness 
l^elson believed himself indebted for his life. He went 
immediately to Bath, in a miserable state: so helpless, 
that he was carried to and from his bed; and the act of 
moving him produced the most violent pain. In three 
months he recovered, and immediately hastened to Lon- 
don, and applied for employment. After an interval of 
about four months he was appointed to the Albemarle, 
of twenty-eight guns, a French merchantman, which had 
been purchased from the captors for the King's service. 

His health was not yet thoroughly re-established; and 
while he was employed in getting his ship ready, he again 
became so ill as hardly to be able to keep out of bed. Yet 
in this state, still suffering from the fatal effect of a West 
Indian climate, as if it might almost be supposed, he said, 
to try his constitution, he was sent to the Baltic Sea, and 
kept there the whole winter. The asperity Avith which 
he mentioned this so many years afterwards, evinces how 

the text is dignified and respectable, and enjoyed much popularity in 
its day, but is now dead beyond recall. Its author deserves to be 
remembered and honored, however, as one who, amid the distractions 
of London mercantile and political life, never lost his love of schol- 
arly pursuits and lettered ease. Thomson, "who sang about the 
seasons," sneered when he heard that Glover had high poetic designs : 
"He write an epic poem, who never saw a mountain !" Instead of 
referring in a naval book to Glover as the author of Leonidas, 
Southey w^ould have done better if he had spoken of him as the 
author of Admiral Hosier's Ghost, that popular ballad written in 
commemoration of a commander iDrave, but not brave enough to 
disobey a disastrous command, who allowed his men to perish by 
disease rather than exceed his authority, and who died (1726), it is 
said, of a broken heart in consequence. It will be interesting to 
note how Nelson's conduct compares with Hosier's. 
^ Brother to Lord Cornwallis of Revolutionary fame. 



28 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1?81 

deeply lie resented a mode of conduct equally cruel to the 
individual and detrimental to the service. It was during 
the Armed Neutrality;^ and when they anchored ""off Elsi- 
nore,2 the Danish Admiral sent on board, desiring to be in- 
formed what ships had arrived, and to have their force 
written down. "The Albemarle,'' said Nelson to the 
messenger, Mj^s one of his Britannic Majesty's ships: you 
are at liberty'Tsir, to count the guns as you go down the 
side ; and you may assure the Danish Admiral, that, if 
necessary, they shall all be well served." During this 
voyage he gained a considerable knowledge of the Danish 
coast, and its soundings: greatly to the advantage of his 
country in after-times. The Albemarle was not a good 
ship, and was several times nearly overset, in consequence 
of the masts haA^ng been made much too long for her. 
On her return to England they were shortened, and some 
other improvements made, at Nelson's suggestion. Still 
he always insisted that her first owners, the French, had 
taught her to run away, as she was never a good sailer, 
except when going directly before the wind. 

On their return to the Downs, while he was ashore visit- 
ing the Senior Officer, there came on so heavy a gale that 
almost all the vessels drove, and a store-ship came athwart- 
hawse of the Albemarle. Nelson feared she would drive 
on the Goodwin Sands: he ran to the beach; but even 
the Deal boatmen thought it impossible to get on board, 
such was the violence of the storm. At length some of 
the most intrepid offered to make the attempt for fifteen 

^ The Armed Neutrality was a coalition formed by Russia, Sweden, 
and Denmark in 1780, for the purpose of resisting the right claimed 
by Great Britain to search the vessels of neutral nations as the only 
method of preventing them from supplying her enemies with pro- 
visions and munitions of war. This confederacy was based on the 
contentions that free ships make free goods, that contraband arti- 
cles must be described as such in a formal treaty, and that a block- 
ade, to be recognized, must be strictly enforced. Holland, Prussia, 
Spain, and France afterward joined the nations already mentioned, 
but the Armed Neutrality never won its point. The Empress Cath- 
erine of E-ussia called it, indeed, the Armed Nullity. It was revived 
in 1801. See Gardiner, History of Englmid, p. 792 ; Mahan, In- 
fluence of Sea Power on History, p. 405. 

2 If this word awakens no pleasing literary reminiscence in the 
mind of the student, he should read Shakspere's Hamlet before he 
turns anothei' leaf in this book. 



1782] THE LIFE OF NELSON 29 

guineas : ^ and, to the astonishment and fear of all the be- 
holders, he embarked daring the height of the tempest. 
With great difficulty and imminent danger he succeeded 
in reaching her. She lost her bowsprit and foremast, but 
escaped further injury. He was now ordered to Quebec; 
where, his surgeon told him, he would certainly be laid up 
by the climate. Many of his friends urged him to repre- 
sent this to Admiral Kep|)el : but, having received his or- 
ders from Lord Sandwich,^ there apjDcared to him an in- 
delicacy in applying to his successor to have them altered. 
Accordingly he sailed for Canada. During her first 
cruise on that station, the Alhemo.rle captured a fishing 
schooner, which contained, in her cargo, nearly all the 
property that her master possessed, and the poor fellow had 
a large family at home, anxiously expecting him, Nelson 
employed him as a pilot in Boston Bay, then restored him 
the schoonel' and cargo, and gave him a certificate to secure 
him against being captured by any other vessel. The man 
came off afterwards to the Alhemarle, at the hazard of his 
life,^ with a present of sheep, poultry, and fresh provisions. 
A most valuable supply it proved; for the scurvy was rag- 
ing on board : this was in the middle of August, and the 
ship's company had not had a fresh meal since the begin- 
ning of April. The certificate^ was preserved at Boston in 

^ A guinea is 21 shillings ; a shilling is worth 24 cents. 

"^ The Sandwich Islands were named after this peer. He is also 
said to have been so fond of what we call sandwiches as to give them 
their name. 

^ Owing to weather or to the Americans ? 

* This certificate is at present in the possession of the Hon, William 
T. Davis, of Plymouth, Mass., to whom the editor is indebted for the 
following facts concerning it : — " During the war of the Revolution 
my great-grandfather, Thomas Davis, who was extensively engaged 
in navigation, owned a schooner named the Harmony, which in the 
summer of 1782 was on her return to Plymouth from North Caro- 
lina, and was captured in Massachusetts Bay by Horatio Nelson, 
then in command of His Majesty's ^hi\) Albemarle. The commander 
of the French fleet, then lying in Boston harbor, learning of the 
presence of Nelson in a single ship on the coast of Massachusetts, 
put out to effect, if possible, his capture. Captain Nathaniel Car- 
ver, of Plymouth, was the master of the Harmony, and through 
his aid as pilot Nelson passed through the intricate navigation of 
Martha's Vineyard Sound, between Cape Cod and the Island of Nan- 
tucket, where the French admiral did not dare to venture with his 
deep-draught ships, and thus escaped. In August, 1782, Nelson 



30 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1782 

memory of an act of unusual generosity; and now that the 
fame of Nelson has given interest to everything connected 
with his name, it is regarded as a relic. The Albemarle 
had a narrow escape upon this cruise. Four French sail of 
the line and a frigate, which had come out of Boston Har- 
bour, gave chase to her; and Nelson^ perceiving that they 
beat him in sailing, boldly ran among the numerous shoals 
of St. George's Bank, confiding in his own skill in pilotage. 
Captain Salter, in the ^S'^^. Margaretta, had escaped the 

re-entered Massachusetts Bay, still in possession of the Harmony, 
which he used as a tender, and, releasing Capt. Carver and his crew, 
sent them into Plymouth in one of his own boats. My great-grand- 
father, Thomas Davis, above mentioned, when Capt. Carver re- 
ported himself, determined to recover the vessel, if possible, and 
getting together a boatload of meats and vegetables as a present to 
Nelson, put out into the Bay and boarded the Albemarle. Nelson 
gratefully received the gift and invited my great-grandfather and 
Capt. Carver to join him at dinner. Not a word was said about the 
return of the schooner, but at the close of the dinner Nelson called 
for his writing desk and wrote the certificate in question, the correct 
text of which is as follows : — 

' These are to certify that I took the Schooner Harmony Nathaniel 
Carver, Master, belonging to Plymouth, but on acct of his good 
services have given him up his vessel again. 

Dated on bd His Majestys Ship Albemarle, 17 Aug. 1782 in 
Boston Bay. Horatio Nelson.' 

''It is a little singular that prior to 1852 no mention had ever 
been made, in the various lives of Nelson, of his presence at any 
time on the coast of Massachusetts, and indeed the archives of the 
admiralty office contained no record of it. When Mr. Abbott Law- 
rence of Boston was our minister to the Court of St. James (1849 to 
1852) he was entertained at a dinner, at which the Professor of 
History of the University of Edinburgh was present, and the conver- 
sation turning on Nelson, Mr. Lawrence, who had seen the certifi- 
cate which was then owned by my great-uncle, Isaac P. Davis of 
Boston, referred to it, and the Professor insisted that he must have 
been mistaken, as no record existed showing that Nelson was ever 
on the coast of New England. The Professor remained incredulous 
until Mr. Lawrence at a later time exhibited to him a fac-simile 
which he had procured from my uncle. The fact was that Nelson 
was stationed for a time on the coast of Newfoundland and made the 
excursion into the waters of Massachusetts without orders. Since 
1852 several new lives of Nelson, the last of which is the recent one by 
Clark Russell, have alluded to the affair, with incorrect accounts of the 
circumstances attending it. The certificate is a transmittendum in 
our family and passes from me to my son, Howland Davis of New York. 
It is framed and hangs in my Library beneath a fine portrait of Nel- 
son himself. Do you know of any other autograph in America ? " 



1782] THE LIFE OF NELSON 3X 

French fleet, by a similar manoeuvre^, not long before. The 
frigate alone continued warily to pursue him; but as soon 
as he perceived that his enemy was unsupported he short- 
ened sail, and hove-to : upon which the Frenchman thought 
it advisable to give over the pursuit^ and sail in quest of 
his consorts. 

At Quebec^ Nelson became acquainted with Alexander 
Davison , ^ by whose interference he was prevented from 
making what would have been called an imprudent mar- 
riage. The Albemarle was about to leave the station, her 
captain had taken leave of his friends, and was gone down 
the river to the place of anchorage: when^ the next morn- 
ings as Davison was walking on the beach, to his surprise 
he saw Nelson coming back in his boat. Upon inquiring 
the cause of this re-appearance, Nelson took his arm, to 
walk towards the town, and told him he found it utterly 
impossible to leave Quebec without again seeing the woman 
whosj society had contributed so much to his happiness 
there, and offering her his hand. — "If you do," said his 
friend, " your utter ruin must inevitably follow." — " Then 
let it follow," cried Nelson, '' for I am resolved to do it." 
— " And I," replied Davison, " am resolved you shall not." 
Nelson, however, upon this occasion, was less resolute than 
his friend, and suffered himself to be led back to the boat. 

The Albemarle was under orders to convoy a fleet of 
transports to New York. — "A very pretty job," said her 
Captain, "at this late season of the year" (October was 
far advanced), "for our sails are at this moment frozen to 
the yards." On his arrival at Sandy Hook he waited on 
the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Digby, who told him 
he was come on a fine station for making prize-money. 
"Yes, sir," Nelson made answer; "but the West Indies 
is the station for honour." Lord Hood, with a detachment 
of Eodney's ^ victorious fleet, was at that time in Sandy 
Hook: he had been intimate with Captain Suckling; and 
Nelson, who was desirous of nothing but honour,^ requested 

* See p. 34 and p. 144. 

' Rodney had beaten Admiral de Grrasse in the West Indies April 
12, 1782. See Mahan, Influence of Sea Poiver on History, pp. 481- 
503 ; Gardiner, History of England, p. 795 ; Green, History of Eng- 
land, p. 786. 

^A debate on the subject : ''Honor or material gain ?" will en- 
liven the work at this point and perhaps cause healthy reflections in 



32 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1783 

him to ask for the Albemarle, that he might go to that 
station where it was most likely to be obtained. Admiral 
Digby reluctantly parted with him. His professional merit 
was already well known: and Lord Hood, on introducing 
him to Prince William Henry/ as the Duke of Clarence 
was then called, told the |)rince, if he wished to ask any 
question respecting naval tactics. Captain Nelson could give 
him as much information as any officer in the fleet. The 
duke, who, to his own honour, became from that time the 
firm friend of Xelson, describes him as appearing the merest 
boy of a captain he had ever seen, dressed in a full-lace uni- 
form, an old-fashioned waistcoat with long flaps, and his 
lank unpowdered hair tied in a stifl Hessian tail of extraor- 
dinary length; making altogether so remarkable a figure, 
" that," says the duke, '' I had never seen anything like it 
before, nor could I imagine who he was, nor what he came 
about. But his address and conversation were irresistibly 
pleasing; and when he spoke on professional subjects, it 
was with an enthusiasm that showed he was no common 
being." ^ 

It was expected that the French would attempt some 
of the passages between the Bahamas: and Lord Hood, 
thinking of this, said to Nelson, *'I suppose, sir, from the 
length of time you were cruising among the Bahama Keys, 

the money-loving, practical minds of some students. The learner 
will also find diversion in looking up the reflections of Falstafl! in 
Shakspere's King Henry IV., part 1 (Act V., Sc. i., end), concerning 
honor. Nelson's ideas recall the story of the Swiss mercenary who 
was reproached by a French cavalier, who remarked to him : ' ' You 
are base. You fight for money. We fight for honor." ''That is 
natural," was the reply. " Each. I presume, fights for what he most 
lacks." 

^Then a midshipman in the Barfleur ; afterwards King. King 
George had placed him in the navy with the design of popularizing 
the service. As far as the nobility were concerned, the experiment 
was successful. The quarter-decks of his Majesty's ships were 
promptly filled with a miscellaneous collection of aristocratic toad- 
eaters. A lieutenant of a man-of-war is said on one occasion, while 
the navy was thus afflicted, to have hailed the mizzen-topsail-yard in 
this respectful fashion : "My lords and gentlemen, and all you 
right honourable lubbers, bear a hand and roll up that sail and lay 
down."— Clark Russell, Life of Nelson, p. 18. 

^ After thorough study of this portrait and investigation of its 
elements, let each student produce a portrait from life of some 
person. 



1783] THE LIFE OF NELSON 33 

yoii must be a good pilot there ? " He replied, with that 
constant readiness to render justice to every man, which 
was so conspicuous in all his conduct through life, that he 
was well acquainted with them himself, but that in that 
respect his second lieutenant was far his superior. The 
French got into Puerto Oabello on the coast of Venezuela. 
Nelson was cruising between that port and La Guayra, 
under French colours, for the purpose of obtaining infor- 
mation, when a king's launch, belonging to the Spaniards, 
passed near, and being hailed in French, came alongside 
without suspicion, and answered all questions that were 
asked concerning the number and force of the enemy's 
ships. The crew, however, were not a little surprised when 
they were taken on board, and found themselves prisoners. 
One of the party went by the name of the Count de Deux 
Pouts. He was, however, a prince of the German empire, 
and brother to the heir ^ of the Electorate of Bavaria : his 
companions were French officers of distinction, and men 
of science, who had been collecting specimens in the va- 
rious branches of natural history. Nelson, having enter- 
tained them with the best his table could afford, told them 
they were at liberty to depart with their boat and all that 
it contained : he only required them to promise that they 
would consider themselves as prisoners, if the Commander- 
in-Chief should refuse to acquiesce in their being thus lib- 
erated : a circumstance which was not by any means likely 
to happen. Tidings soon arrived that the preliminaries 
of peace ^ had been signed ; and the A Ihemarle returned to 
England, and was paid off. Nelson's first business, after 
he got to London, even before he went to see his relations, 
was to attempt to get the wages due to his men, for the 
various ships in which they had served during the war. 
'IThe disgust of seamen to the navy," he said, " was all 
owing to the infernal plan of turning them over from ship 
to ship; so that men could not be attached to the officers, 
nor the officers care the least about the men." Yet he 
himself was so beloved by his men, that his whole ship's 
company offered, if he could get a ship, to enter for her 
immediately. , He was now, for the first time, presented at 

^Afterward king. 

'What peace? See Grardiner, History of England, p. 798 ; Green, 
History of England, p. 786. 

3 



34 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1783 

court. After going tlirougli this ceremony, lie dined with 
his friend Davison/ at Lincoln's Inn.^ As soon as he en- 
tered the chambers he threw off what he called his iron- 
bound coat, and putting himself at ease in a dressing-gown, 
passed the remainder of the day in talking over all that 
had befallen them since they parted on the shore of the 
Eiver St. Lawrence. 

^Seep. 31. 

^ Lincoln's Inn is one of the famous London Inns of Court. Ben 
Jonson is said to have helped build a part of it, trowel in hand and 
Horace in pocivet. 



CHAPTER II. 

Nelson goes to France during the peace — Re-appointecl to the 
Boreas, and stationed at the Leeward Islands — His firm conduct 
concerning the American interlopers and the contractors — The West 
Indies — Marries and returns to England — Is on the point of quitting 
the service in disgust — Manner of life while unemployed— Appointed 
to the Agamemnon on the breaking out of the war of the French 
Revolution. 

''(I HAVE closed the war," said Nelson, in one of his 
letters, " without a fortune; but there is not a speck in my 
character. True honour, I hope, predominates in my mind 
far above riches." He did not apply for a ship, because 
he was not wealthy enough to live on board in the manner 
which was then become customary. Finding it, therefore, 
prudent to economise to his half -pay during the peace, he 
went to France, in company with Captain Macnamara, of 
the navy, and took lodgings at St. Omer's.^ The death 
of his favourite sister, Anne, who died in consequence of 
going out of the ball-room, at Bath, when heated with 
dancing, affected his father so much, that it had nearly 
occasioned him to return in a few weeks. Time, however, 
and reason and religion, overcame this grief in the old 
man; and Nelson continued at St. Omer's long enough to 
fall in love with the daughter of an English clergyman. 
This second attachment appears to have been less ardent 
than the first; for, upon weighing the evils of a straitened 
income to a married man, he thought it better to leave 
France, assigning to his friends something in his accounts 
as the cause. This prevented him from accepting an in- 
vitation from the Count of Deux Pouts ^ to visit him at 
Paris, couched in the handsomest terms of acknowledg- 
ment for the treatment which he had received on board 
the Albemarle. 

^St, Omer is a town (pop. 31,855) in almost the extreme northern 
corner of France. ^ See p. 33. 



36 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1784 

The self-constraint which Nelson exerted in subduing 
this attachment, made him naturally desire to be at sea: 
and when, upon visiting Lord Howe ^ at the Admiralty, he 
was asked if he wished to be employed, he made answer, 
that he did. Accordingly, in March, he was appointed 
to the Boreas, twenty-eight guns, going to the Leeward 
Islauds, as a cruiser, on the peace establishment. Lady 
Hughes and her family ^ went out with him to Admiral Sir 
Richard Hughes, who commanded on that station. His 
ship was full of young Midshipmen, of whom there were 
not less than thirty on board; and happy were they whose 
lot it was to be placed with such a captain. If he per- 
ceived that a boy was afraid at first going aloft, he would 
say to him, in a friendly manner: "iWell, sir, I am going 
a race to the mast-head, and beg that I may meet you 
there." The poor little fellow instantly began to climb, 
and got up how he could, — Nelson never noticed in what 
manner, but, when they met in the top, spoke cheerfully 
to him, and would say, how much any person was to be 
pitied w^ho fancied that getting up was either dangerous 
or difficult. Every day he went into the school-room, to 
see that they were pursuing their nautical studies; and at 
noon^ he was always the first on deck with his quadrant. 
Whenever he paid a visit of ceremony, some of these 
youths accompanied him: and when he went to dine 
with the Governor of Barbadoes he took one of them in 
his hand,* and presented him, saying, ''Your Excellency 
mast excuse me for bringing one of my Midshipmen. I 
make it a rule to introduce them to all the good company 

^Lord Howe (1725-1799) commanded from 1776 to 1778 on the 
coast of the United States. He was First Lord of the Admiralty in 
1783. In 1794 he gained an important victory over the French, tak- 
ing ten ships of the fine. See Mahan, Influence of Sea Power on 
French Revolution and Empire, i., 125-160. 

^ Nelson did not like his passengers ; Lady Hughes he described in 
characteristic language as having " an eternal clack." Sir Richard 
bowed and scraped too much to suit him ; lived in a boarding-house, 
which jSFelson thought undignified, and, as he said, was a fiddler ; 
"therefore, as his time is taken up in tuning that instrument, the 
squadron is cursedly out of tune." 

^At sea the latitude and longitude are always taken, the clocks 
rectified, and the progress of the vessel posted at noon. 

* "Sacra manu victosque deos parvumque nepotem 
lose trahit. " — ^neid, ii., 330. 



1184:] THE LIFE OF NELSON 37 

I can^ as tliey have few to look up to, besides myself, dur- 
ing the time they are at sea." 

When Nelson arrived in the West Indies he found him- 
self Senior Captain, and consequently second in command 
on that station. Satisfactory as this was, it soon involved 
him in a dispute with the Admiral, which a man less zea- 
lous for the service might have avoided. He found the La- 
tona in English Harbour, Antigua, with a broad pendant ^ 
hoisted; and, upon inquiring the reason, was presented 
with a written order from Sir R. Hughes, requiring and 
directing him to obey the orders of Eesident Commission- 
er Moutray, during the time he might have occasion to re- 
main there; the said resident commissioner being, in conse- 
quence, authorised to hoist a broad pendant on board any 
of his Majesty's ships in that port that he might think 
proper. Nelson was never at a loss how to act in any 
emergency. "I know of no superior officers," said he, 
''besides the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty and 
my seniors on the Post list." Concluding, therefore, that 
it was not consistent with the service for a resident commis- 
sioner, who held only a civil situation, to hoist a broad pen- 
dant, the moment that he had anchored he sent an order to 
the caj)tain of the Latona to strike it, and return it to the 
dock-yard. He went on shore the same day, dined with 
the commissioner, to show him that he was actuated by no 
other motive than. a sense of duty, and gave him the first 
intelligence that this pendant had been struck. Sir Eich- 
ard sent an account of this to the Admiralty; but the case 
could admit of no doubt, and Captain Nelson's conduct 
was approved. 

He displayed the same promptitude on another occa- 
sion. While the Boreas, after the hurricane ^ months were 
over, was riding at anchor in Nevis Roads, a French frigate 
passed to leeward,^ close along shore. Nelson had obtained 
information that this ship was sent from Martinique, with 

^ The broad pendant, or pennant, is a square piece of bunting at 
the mast-head of the vessel of the senior admiral, or commodore 
captain. 

^ The word " hurricane " is Carib for "high wind." The months 
alluded to are August, September, and October. 

^ Toward the sheltered side of the ship ; hence, in the direction of 
the wind. "Lee" means shelter. Alee shore is the shore on the 
lee side of the ship ; that is, the shore toward which the wind blows. 



38 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1784 

two general officers and some engineers on board, to make 
a survey of our sugar islands. This purpose he was deter- 
mined to prevent them from executing, and therefore he 
gave orders to follow them. The next day he came up 
with them at anchor in the roads of St. Eustatia, and an- 
chored at about two cables' length on the frigate's quarter. 
Being afterwards invited by the Dutch governor to meet 
the French officers at dinner, he seized that occasion of 
assuring the French captain that, understanding it was his 
intention to honour the British possessions with a visit, lie 
had taken the earliest opportunity in his power to accom- 
pany him, in his Majesty's ship the Boreas, in order that 
such attention might be paid to the officers of his Most 
Christian Majesty as every Englishman in the islands 
would be proud to show. The French, with equal courtesy, 
protested against giving him this trouble; especially, they 
said, as they intended merely to cruise round the islands, 
without landing on any. But ]^elson, with the utmost po- 
liteness, insisted upon paying them this compliment, fol- 
lowed them close, in spite of all their attempts to elude his 
vigilance, and never lost sight of them till, finding it im- 
possible either to deceive or escape him, they gave up their 
treacherous purpose in despair, and beat up for Martinique. 
A business of more serious import soon engaged his 
attention. The Americans were at this time trading 
with our islands, taking advantage of the register of their 
ships, which had been issued while they were British sub- 
jects. Nelson knew that, by the Navigation Act,^ no for- 
eigners, directly or indirectly, are permitted to carry on 
any trade with these possessions: he knew, also, that the 
Americans had made themselves foreigners with regard to 
England; they had broken the ties of blood and language, 
and acquired the independence which they had been pro- 
voked to claim, unhappily for themselves, before they were 
fit for it; and he was resolved that they should derive no 
profit from those ties.^ Foreigners they had made them- 

^ "I proved, and an Act of Parliament has since established it, 
that a captain of a man-of-war is in duty bound to support all the 
maritime laws, by his Admiralty commission alone, without becom- 
ing a custom-house officer." — Nelson, See Mahan, Influence of Sea- 
Power upo7i History, pp. 60 and 251. 

^ For the other side of the case read the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, and remember Lord Chatham's memorable words: "If I were 



1784] THE LIFB OF NELSON 39 

selves, and as foreigners tliey were to be treated. ' ' If once, ' ' 
said he, " they are admitted to any kind of intercourse with 
our islands, the views ^ of the Loyalists, in settling at Nova 
Scotia, are entirely done away; and when we are again em- 
broiled in a French war, the Americans will first become 
the carriers of these colonies, and then have possession of 
them. Here they come, sell their cargoes for ready money, 
go to Martinique, buy molasses, and so round and round. 
The Loyalist cannot do this, and consequently must sell a 
little dearer. The residents here are Americans by con- 
nexion and by interest, and are inimical to Great Britain. 
They are as great rebels as ever were in America, had they 
the power to show it." In November, when the squad- 
ron, having arrived at Barbadoes, was to separate, with no 
other orders than those for examining anchorages, and the 
usual inquiries concerning wood and water, Nelson asked 
his friend Collingwood,^ then Captain of the Mediator, 
whose opinions he knew upon the subject, to accompany 
him to the Commander-in-Chief, whom he then respect- 
fully asked, whether they were not to attend to the com- 
merce of the country, and see that the Navigation Act ^ was 
respected — that appearing to him to be the intent of keep- 
ing men-of-war upon this station in time of peace ? Sir 
Eichard Hughes replied, he had no particular orders, 
neither had the Admiralty sent him any acts of parliament. 
But Nelson made answer, that the Navigation Act was in- 
cluded in the statutes of the Admiralty, with which every 
captain was furnished, and that Act was directed to admi- 
rals, captains, &c.,^ to see it carried into execution. Sir 
Eichard said, he had never seen the book. Upon this Nel- 
son produced the statutes, read the words of the Act, and 
apparently convinced the Commander-in-Chief, that men- 

an American as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was 
landed in my country, I never woiikl lay down my arms — never, never, 
never ! " Also consult Green, History of England, pp. 725-748. 

^ Views; i. e., expectations. 

^See p. 21, note 1. 

^ See the Encyclopmdia Britannica, under Navigation Laws and 
Sea Laws ; Bright's England, ii., 699, 799 ; Gardiner, History of 
England, pp. 565, 589, 936. 

* As a point of style the use of this abbreviation is to be con- 
demned. It produces a feeling that the author, having reached a 
point where he can think of no more particulars to enumerate, has 
recourse to a meaningless symbol. 



40 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1785 

of -war, as he said, "were sent abroad for some other pur- 
pose than to be made a show of." Accordingly, orders 
were given to enforce the Navigation Act. 

Major-General Sir Thomas Shirley was at this time Gover- 
nor of the Leeward ^ Islands ; and when ISTelson waited on 
him to inform him how he intended to act, and upon what 
grounds, he replied, that " Old generals were not in the 
habit of taking advice from young gentlemen." — "Sir," 
said the young officer, with that confidence in himself 
which never carried him too far, and always was equal to 
the occasion, ' ' I am as old as the Prime Minister of Eng- 
land,^ and think myself as capable of commanding one of 
his Majesty's ships as that minister is of governing the 
y state." He was resolved to do his duty, whatever might 
\ be the opinion or conduct of others; and when he arrived 
upon his station at St. Kitt's, he sent away all the Ameri- 
cans, not choosing to seize them before they had been well 
apprised that the Act would be carried into effect, lest it 
might seem as if a trap had been laid for them. The 
Americans, though they prudently decamped from St. 
Kitt's, were emboldened by the support they met with, and 
resolved to resist his orders, alleging that the King's ships 
had no legal power to seize them without having depu- 
tations ^ from the Customs. The planters Avere to a man 
against him; the Governors and the Presidents of the dif- 
ferent islands, with only a single exception, gave him no 
support; and the Admiral, afraid to act on either side, yet 
wishing to oblige the planters, sent him a note, advising 
him to be guided by the wishes of the President of the 
Council. There Avas no danger in disregarding this, as it 
came unofficially, and in the form of advice. But scarcely 
a month after he had shown Sir Richard Hughes the law, 
and, as he supposed, satisfied him concerning it, he received 
an order from him, stating that he had now obtained good 

^ The Leeward Islands lie between Martinique and Porto E,ico ; 
the Windward Islands are further south. Together they form the 
group known as the Lesser Antilles. The Windward Islands are so 
named because first exposed to the northeast trade- winds ; the Lee- 
ward are named in contrast, 

^William Pitt. The article in the Encydopcedia Britannica on 
this great man is from the pen of Macaulay. It appears also in the 
third volume of Macaulay's Essays. 

^ That is, unless invested with authority delegated by the customs. 



1785] THE LIFE OF NELSON 4X 

advice upon the pointy and the Americans were not to be 
hindered from coming, and having free egress and regress, 
if the Governor chose to permit them. An order to the 
same purport had been sent round to the different Gov- 
ernors and Presidents; and General Shirley and others in- 
formed him, in an authoritative manner, that they chose 
to admit American ships, as the Commander-in-Chief had 
left the decision to them. These persons, in his own 
words, he soon " trimmed up, and silenced; " but it was a 
more delicate business to deal with the Admiral. " I must 
either," said he, " disobey my orders, or disobey acts of 
Parliament. I determined upon the form*er, trusting to 
the uprightness of my intentions, and believing that my 
country would not let me be ruined for protecting her com- 
merce. " With this determination he wrote to Sir Richard, 
appealed again to the plain, literal, unequivocal ^ sense of 
the Navigation Act, and in respectful language told him, 
he felt it his duty to decline obeying these orders till he 
had an opportunity of seeing and conversing with him. Sir 
Eichard's first feeling was that of anger, and he was about 
to supersede ]S[elson ; but having mentioned the affair to 
his Captain, that officer told him he believed all the squad- 
ron thought the orders illegal, and therefore did not know 
how far they were bound to obey them. It was impossible, 
therefore, to bring Nelson to a court-martial,^ composed of 
men who agreed with him in opinion upon the point in 
dispute; and luckily, though the Admiral wanted vigour 
of mind to decide upon what was right, he was not obsti- 
nate in wrong, and had even generosity enough in his na- 
ture to thank Nelson afterwards for having shown him 
his error. 

^ Equivocation is truth outwardly, falsehood inwardly. Find an 
example of it on p. 42. Compare Tennyson, The Orandmother, ,^ : 



That a lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies ; 
That a lie which is all a lie may be met and fought with outri 
But a lie which is part the truth is a harder matter to fight." 



2 Is Southey's language exact ? Hemember Shakspere, Henry IV., 
part 1, Act III., Sc. i., where Grlendower says : 

" I can call spirits from the vasty deep," 

and Hotspur replies : 

" Why, so can I and so can any man, 
But will they come when you do call for them ? " 



42 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1785 

Oollingwood, in tlie Mediator, and his brother, Wilfred 
Collingwood, in the Rattler, actively co-operated with 
Nelson. The custom-houses were informed, that after a 
certain day all foreign vessels found in the ports would 
be seized; and many were in consequence seized, and con- 
demned in the Admiralty Court. When the Boreas arrived 
at Nevis, she found four American vessels deeply laden, 
and with what are called the island colours flying — white, 
with a red cross. They were ordered to hoist their proper ^ 
flag, and depart within eight-and-f orty hours ; but they re- 
fused to obey, denying that they were Americans. Some 
of their crews were then examined in Nelson's cabin, where 
the Judge of the Admiralty happened to be present. The 
case was plain; they confessed that they were Americans, 
and that the ships, hull and cargo, were wholly Ameri- 
can property : upon which he seized them. This raised a 
storm: the planters, the custom-house, and the Governor, 
were all against him. Subscriptions were opened and 
presently ^ filled, for the purpose of carrying on the cause 
in behalf of the American captains: and the Admiral, 
whose flag w^as at that time in the road, stood neutral. But 
the Americans and their abettors were not content with 
defensive law. The marines whom he had sent to secure 
the ships, had prevented some of the masters from go- 
ing ashore; and those persons, by whose de|)ositions it 
appeared that the vessels and cargoes were American pro- 
perty, declared that they had given their testimony under 
bodily fear, for that a man with a drawn sword in his hand 
had stood over them the whole of the time. A rascally 
lawyer, whom the party employed, suggested this story; 
and as the sentry at the cabin-door was a man with a 
drawn sword, the Americans made no scruple of swearing 
to this ridiculous falsehood, and commencing prosecutions 
against him accordingly. They laid their damages at the 
enormous amount of £40,000; and Nelson was obliged to 
keep close on board his own ship, lest he should be arrested 
for a sum for which it would have been impossible to find 
bail. The marshal frequently came on board to arrest him, 

^Proper means "own." Cf. " 'Tis for my proper peace," Brown- 
ing, Paracelsus; "Love's proper hue, celestial rosy red," Milton, 
Paradise Lost, viii., 618. 

^ At once. 



1786] TEJE LIFE OF NELSON 43 

but was always prevented by the address of tlie first lieuten- 
ant, Mr. Wallis. Had lie been taken, such was the temper 
of the people, that it was certain he would have been cast for 
the whole sum. One of his officers, one day, in speaking of the 
restraint which he was thus compelled to suffer, happened 
to use the wordi pity ! '^ Pity !" exclaimed Nelson: " Pity! 
did you say ? I shall live, sir, to be envied ! and to that 
point I shall always direct my course." Eight weeks he 
remained under this state of duress. During that time 
the trial respecting these detained ships came on in the 
Court of Admiralty. He went on shore under a protection 
for the day from the Judge: but, notwithstanding this, the 
marshal was called upon to take that opportunity of arrest- 
ing him, and the merchants promised to indemnify him ^ 
for so doing. The Judge, however, did his duty, and threa- 
tened to send the marshal to prison if he attempted to vio- 
late the protection of the court. Mr. Herbert, the Presi- 
dent of ISTevis, behaved with singular generosity upon this 
occasion. Though no man was a greater sufferer by the 
measures which JsTelson had pursued, he offered in court to 
become his bail for £10,000, if he chose to suffer the 
arrest. The lawyer whom he had chosen proved to be an 
able as well as an honest man; and, notwithstanding the 
opinions and pleadings of most of the counsel of the diffe- 
rent islands, who maintained that ships of war were not 
justified in seizing American vessels without a deputation 
from the customs, the law was so explicit,^ the case so 
clear, and Nelson pleaded his own cause so well, that the 
four ships were condemned. During the progress of this 
business he sent a memorial home to the King : in conse- 
quence of which, orders were issued that he should be 
defended at the expense of the crown. And upon the 
representations which he made at the same time to the 
secretary of state, and the suggestions with which he ac- 
companied them, the Eegister Act^ was framed. The 

^ To whom does liim refer ? 

"^Explicit is from the Latin ex, "out of," and plica, "fold." 
Compare "simple," '' implicit," " implicate," and "inexplicable." 
An interesting essay on the etymologies of selected words from 
the book could be written as a student's exercise, 

^ See note 1, p. 38. " An act for the further increase and encourag- 
ing of shipping and navigation," by requiring all ships sailing under 
the British flag to register. 



44 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1787 

sanction of government, and the approbation of his con- 
duct which it implied, were highly gratifying to him: but 
he was offended, and not without just cause, that the Trea- 
sury should have transmitted thanks to the Commander-in- 
Chief for his activity and zeal in protecting the commerce 
of Great Britain. ''.Had they known all," said he, " I do 
not think they would have bestowed thanks in that quar- 
ter, and neglected me. I feel much hurt, that, after the loss 
of health and risk of fortune, another should be thanked 
for what I did against his orders. I either deserved to 
be sent out of the service, or at least to have had some 
little notice taken of what I had done. They have thought 
it worthy of notice, and yet have neglected me. If this 
is the reward for a faithful discharge of my duty, I shall 
be careful, and never stand forward again. But I have 
done my duty, and have nothing to accuse myself of.'' ^ 

The anxiety he had suffered from the harassing uncer- 
tainties of law, is ap23arent from these^ expressions. He 
had, however, something to console him, for he was at this 
time wooing the niece of his friend the President, then in 
her eighteenth year, the widow of Dr. Nisbet, a physician. 
She had one child, a son, by name Josiah, who was three 
years old. One day Mr. Herbert,^ who had hastened, half- 
dressed, to receive Nelson, exclaimed, on returning to his 
dressing-room, " Grood God! if I did not find that great- 
little man, of whom everybody is so afraid, playing in the 
next room, under the dining-table, with Mrs. IN^isbet's 
child!" A few days afterwards Mrs. Msbet herself was 
first introduced to him, and thanked him for the partiality 
which he had shown her little boy. Her manners were mild 
and winning : and the Captain, whose heart was easily sus- 
ceptible of attachment, found no such imperious necessity 
for SLibduing his inclinations as had twice before withheld 
him from marrying. They were married on March 11, 

^ These efforts of Nelson will recall other heroic fights against cor- 
ruption — Cicero's, for example. These will make good subjects for 
composition. 

■■^ Notice the skill of the paragraph sequence. 

^ A friend of Mr. Herbert speaks of Nelson as silent and thought- 
ful in company. He declined wine at dinner ; but when the healths 
of the King, Queen, and Lord Hood were to be drunk, " this strange 
man filled his glass and observed they were bumper toasts with 
him." He was reserved and stern, speaking seldom and to the point. 



1787] THE LIFE OF NELSON 45 

1787 : Prince William Henry/ who had come out to the West 
Indies the preceding winter, being present, by his own 
desire, to give away the bride. Mr. Herbert, her uncle, 
was at this time so much displeased with his only daughter, 
that he had resolved to disinherit her, and leave his whole 
fortune, which was very great, to his niece. But JSTelson, 
whose nature was too noble to let him profit by an act 
of injustice, interfered, and succeeded in reconciling the 
President to his child. 

" Yesterday," said one of his naval friends the day after 
the wedding, ' ' the Navy lost one of its greatest ornaments, 
by Nelson's marriage. It is a national loss that such an 
officer should marry: had it not been for this, Nelson 
would have become the greatest man in the service."^ 
The man was rightly estimated : but he who delivered this 
opinion did not understand the effect of domestic love and 
duty upon a mind of the true heroic stamp. 

''(3^0 are often separate," said Nelson, in a letter to Mrs. 
Nisbet, a few months before their marriage; " but our af- 
fections are not by any means on that account diminished. 
Our country has the first demand for our services; and 
private convenience or happiness must ever give way to the 
public good. Duty is the great business of a sea officer: 
all private considerations must give way to it, however 
painful."" " Have you not often heard," says he, in an- 
other letter, ' ' that salt water and absence always wash away 
love ? Now, I am such a heretic as not to believe in that ar- 
ticle : for behold, every morning I have had six pails of salt 
water poured upon my head, and instead of finding what 
seamen say to be true, it goes on so contrary to the prescrip- 

^ See p. 32, note 1. 

^In connection with this statement the student will find much 
pleasure and profit in reading Bacon's two essays (both fill barely six 
pages) on " Marriage " and " Love." 

^ Nelson sometimes talks like an antique Spartan. The laws of 
ancient nations were based chiefly on the idea that a man should live 
for the state rather than for himself. What probably gave rise to 
this idea ? Was it because the ancient state was involved in almost 
constant war to preserve itself ? Is a man's first duty to himself or 
to society ? Can that whic^i is bad for the individual be good for 
society ? What is the actual relation between happiness and duty ? 
Are they two things, or two sides of the same thing ? Is there such a 
thing as true pleasure unreconciled with duty, or real duty which can 
produce anything but pleasure ? Keflect and write. 



46 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1787 

tioii, that you must, perhaps, see me before the fixed 
time." More frequently his correspondence breathed a 
deeper strain. " To write letters to you/' says he, " is the 
next greatest pleasure I feel to receiving them from you. 
What I experience when I read such as I am sure are the 
pure sentiments of your heart, my poor pen cannot express; 
— nor, indeed, would 1 give much for any pen or head 
which could express feelings of that kind. Absent from 
you I feel no pleasure : it is you who are every thing to me. 
"Without you, I care not for this world; for I have found, 
lately, nothing in it but vexation and trouble. These are 
my present sentiments. God Almighty grant they may 
never change! Nor do I think they wiU. Indeed there 
is, as far as human knowledge can judge, a moral cer- 
tainty that they cannot : for it must be real affection that 
brings us together, and not interest or compulsion:" Such 
were the feelings, and such the sense of duty, with which 
ISTelson became a husband. 

During his stay upon this station ^ he had ample oppor- 
tunity of observing the scandalous practices of the con- 
tractors, prize-agents, and other persons in the West Indies 
connected with the naval service. When he was first left 
with the command, and bills were brought him to sign 
for money which was owing for goods purchased for the 
navy, he required the original vouchers, that he might ex- 
amine whether those goods had been really purchased at 
the market price: but to produce vouchers would not have 
been convenient, and therefore was not the custom. Upon 
this Nelson wrote to Sir Charles Middleton, then Comp- 
troller of the Navy, representing the abuses which were 
likely to be practised in this manner. The answer which 
he received seemed to imply that the old forms were thought 
sufficient: and thus, having no alternative, he was com- 
pelled, with his eyes open, to submit to a practice originat- 
ing in fraudulent intentions. Soon afterwards two Antigua 
merchants informed him that they were privy to great 
frauds, which had been committed upon government in 
various departments : at Antigua, to the amount of nearly 
£500,000; at Lucia, £300,000; at Barbadoes, £250,000; at 
Jamaica, upwards of a million. The informers were both 

^ Is the paragraph sequence well managed ? Could it be bettered ? 
If so, how ? 



1787] TEE LIFE OF NELSON 47 

shrewd, sensible men of business ; they did not affect to be 
actuated by a sense of justice, but required a per-centage 
upon so much as government should actually recover 
through their means. Nelson examined the books and 
papers which they produced, and was convinced that gov- 
ernment had been most infamously plundered. Vouchers, 
he found, in that country, were no check whatever: the 
principle was, '^ that a thing was always worth what it 
would bring : ' ' and the merchants were in the habit of 
signing vouchers for each other, without even the appear- 
ance of looking at the articles. These accounts he sent 
home to the different departments which had been de- 
frauded: but the peculators^ were too powerful; and they 
succeeded not merely in impeding inquiry, but even in 
raising prejudices against Nelson at the board of Admi- 
ralty, which it was many years before he could subdue. 

Owing, probably, to these prejudices, and the influence 
of the peculators, he was treated, on his return to Eng- 
land, in a manner which had nearly driven him from the 
service.^ During the three years that the Boreas had re- 
mained upon a station which is usually so fatal, not a 
single officer or man of her whole complement had died. 
This almost unexampled instance of good health, though 
mostly, no doubt, imputable to a healthy season, must in 
some measure also be ascribed to the wise conduct of the 
Captain. He never suffered the ships to remain more than 
three or four weeks at a time at any of the islands, and when 
the hurricane months confined him to English Harbour,^ he 
encouraged all kinds of useful amusements: music, danc- 
ing, and cudgelling among the men ; theatricals among the 
officers : anything which could employ their attention, and 
keep their spirits cheerful,^ The Boreas arrived in England 
in June. Nelson, who had many times been supposed to 
be consumptive when in the West Indies, and perhaps was 
saved from consumption by that climate, was still in a pre- 
carious state of health : and the raw, wet weather of one of 

^ From the Latin pecus, "herd," coming in time, in the form of 
pecunia, to mean "money," because wealth consisted chiefly of cat- 
tle in early times. Compare our phrase " goods and chattels." 

^ The unity of the paragraph is violated. How can it be restored ? 

^ Antigua. 

^ The paragraph unity is violated. 



48 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1788 

our ungenial summers brought on cold, and sore throat, 
and fever; yet his vessel was kept at the ISTore from the 
end of June till the end of November, serving as a slop 
and receiving ship.^ This unworthy^ treatment, which 
more probably proceeded from intention than from ne- 
glect, excited in STelson the etrongest indignation. During 
the whole five months he seldom or never quitted the ship, 
but carried on his duty with strict and sullen attention. 
On the morning when orders were received to prepare the 
Boreas for being paid off, he expressed his joy to the senior 
officer in the Medway; saying, " It will release me for ever 
from an ungrateful service, for it is my firm and unalter- 
able determination, never again to set my foot on board a 
king's ship. Immediately after my arrival in town I shall 
wait on the First Lord of the Admiralty, and resign my 
commission." The officer to whom he thus communicated 
his intentions behaved in the wisest and most friendly 
manner; for finding it vain to dissuade him in his present 
state of feeling, he secretly interfered with the First Lord 
to save him from a step so injurious to himself, little fore- 
seeing how deeply the welfare and honour of England were 
at that moment at stake. This interference produced a 
letter from Lord Howe, the day before the ship was paid 
off, intimating a wish to see Captain Nelson as soon as he 
arrived in town: when, being pleased with his conversa- 
tion, and perfectly convinced by what was then explained 
to him, of the propriety of his conduct, he desired that 
he might present him to the King on the first levee day: 
and the gracious manner in which Nelson was then received 
effectually removed his resentment. 

Prejudices had been, in like manner, excited against his 
friend. Prince AVilliam Henry. "Nothing is wanting, 
sir," said Nelson in one of his letters, "to make you the 
darling of the English nation, but truth. Sorry I am to 
say, much to the contrary has been dispersed." This was 
not flattery; for Nelson was no flatterer. The letter in 
which this passage occurs shows in how wise and noble a 
manner he dealt with the prince. One of his Eoyal High- 
ness 's officers had applied for a court-martial upon a point 

^ A ship for receiving impressed seamen. " Slops," in the British 
navy, are clothing and other suppKes kept by the government to be 
sold to seamen when away from port. ^ Undeserved. 



1788] THE LIFE OF NELSON 49 

in wliicli he was unquestionably wrong. His Royal High- 
ness, however, while he supported his own character and 
authority, prevented the trial, which must have been in- 
jurious to a brave and deserving man. "^Now that you 
are parted," said Nelson, " pardon me, my Prince, when I 
presume to recommend that he may stand in your royal 
favour as if he had never sailed with you, and that at some 
future day you will serve him. There only wants this to 
place your conduct in the highest point of view.^ None 
of us are without failings; his, was being rather too hasty: 
but that, put into competition with his being a good officer, 
will not, I am bold to say, be taken in the scale against 
him. More able friends than myself your Royal Highness 
may easily find, and of more consequence in the state; but 
one more attached and affectionate is not so easily met 
with. Princes seldom, very seldom, find a disinterested 
person to communicate their thoughts to : I do not pretend 
to be that person; but of this be assured, by a man who, 
I trust, never did a dishonourable act, that I am interested 
only that your Royal Highness should be the greatest and 
best man this country ever produced." 

Encouraged by the conduct of Lord Howe, and by his re- 
ception at court, Nelson renewed his attack upon the pecu- 
lators with fresh spirit. He had interviews with Mr. Rose, 
Mr. Pitt,2 and Sir Charles Middleton, to all of whom he 
satisfactorily proved his charges. In consequence, it is 
said, these very extensive public frauds were at length put 
in a proper train to be provided against in future ; his re- 
presentations were attended to; and every step which he 
recommended was adopted; the investigation was put into 
a proper course, which ended in the detection and punish- 
ment of some of the culprits; an immense saving was made 
to government, and thus its attention was directed to similar 
peculation in other parts of the colonies. But it is said 
also, that no mark of commendation seems to have been 
bestowed upon Nelson for his exertion. And it is justly 
remarked,* that the spirit of the Navy cannot be preserved 

^ This passage recalls the old storv about Prince Hal and Judge 
Gaseoigne. See Henry IV., part "2, Act V., Sc. ii. ; the student 
would do well to read the whole of that great play. 

^ See page 40, note 2. 

* Clarke and M'Arthur, vol. i., p. 107 .—Southey' s Note. 

4 



50 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1788 

so effectually by the liberal honours bestowed on officers, 
when they are worn out in the service, as by an attention 
to those who, like Nelson at this part of his life, have only 
their integrity and zeal to bring them into notice. A 
junior officer, who had been left with the command at 
Jamaica, received an additional allowance, for which N^el- 
son had applied in vain. Double pay was allowed to every 
artificer and seaman employed in the Naval Yard : Nelson 
had superintended the whole business of that yard with 
the most rigid exactness, and he complained that he was 
neglected. " It was most true," he said, " that the trouble 
which he took to detect the fraudulent practices then car- 
ried on, was no more than his duty; but he little thought 
that the expenses attending his frequent journeys to St. 
John's upon that duty (a distance of twelve miles), would 
have fallen upon his pay as Captain of the Boreas,'''' Ne- 
vertheless, the sense of what he thought unworthy usage 
did not diminish his zeal. '^I," said he, "must still 
buffet the waves in seach of — What? Alas! that they 
called honour is now thought of no more. My fortune, 
God knows, has grown worse for the service: so much for 
serving my country. But the devil, ever willing to tempt 
the virtuous, has made me offer, if any ships should be 
sent to destroy his Majesty of Morocco's ports, to be 
there: and I have some reason to think, that, should any 
more come of it, my humble services will be accepted. I 
have invariably laid down, and followed close, a -plan of 
what ought to be uppermost in the breast of an officer, — 
that it is much better to serve an ungrateful country, than 
to give up his own fame. Posterity will do him justice. A 
uniform course of honour and integrity seldom fails of 
bringing a man to the goal of fame at last. ' ' ^ 

The design against the Barbary pirates, like all other 
designs against them, was laid aside; and Nelson took his 
wife to his father's parsonage, meaning only to pay him a 
visit before they went to France; a project which he had 

' It is said that his private correspondence at this time showed no 
sign of the discontent here alluded to. Probably the stories that are 
told grew out of some of his vehement chance remarks. Do you 
suppose that his disobedience of orders had anything to do with the 
unsatisfactory treatment of which he is said to have complained ? 
Is it not possible that the Admiralty had marked him as a man likely 
to cause trouble in time of peace by his excessive zeal ? 



1788] THE LIFE OF NELSON 51 

formed for the sake of acquiring a competent knowledge 
of the French language. But his father could not bear to 
lose him thus unnecessarily. Mr. Nelson had long been an 
invalid^ suffering under paralytic and asthmatic affections, 
which, for several hours after he rose in the morning, 
scarcely permitted him to speak. He had been given over 
by his physicians for this complaint nearly forty years 
before his death; and was, for many of his last years, 
obliged to spend all his Avinters at Bath. The sight of his 
son, he declared, had given him new life. "But, Hora- 
tio," said he, " it would have been better that I had not been 
thus cheered, if I am so soon to be bereaved of you again. 
Let me, my good son, see you whilst I can. My age and 
infirmities increase, and I shall not last long." To such 
an appeal there could be no reply. Nelson took up his 
abode at the parsonage, and amused himself with the sports 
and occupations of the country. Sometimes he busied 
himself with farming the glebe ; ^ sometimes spent the 
greater part of the day in the garden, where he would dig 
as if for the mere pleasure of wearying himself. Sometimes 
he went a bird's-nesting like a boy: and in these expedi- 
tions Mrs. Nelson always, by his express desire, accompa- 
nied him. Coursing was his favourite amusement. Shoot- 
ing, as he practised it, was far too dangerous for his com- 
panions : for he carried his gun upon the full cock, as if he 
were going to board an enemy; and the moment a bird 
rose, he let fly, without ever putting the fowling-piece to 
his shoulder. It is not, therefore, extraordinary, that his 
having once shot a partridge should be remembered by his 
family among the remarkable events of his life.^ 

But his time did not pass away thus without some vexa- 
tious cares to ruffle it. The affair of the American ships was 
not yet over, and he was again pestered with threats of prose- 
cution. ' ' I have written them word, ' ' said he, ' ' that I will 
have nothing to do with them, and they must act as they 
think proper. Government, I suppose, will do what is 

^ Judge of the meaning of the word from this line in Gray's Elegy : 
" Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke." 

^ From 1788 to 1793 he was not in service, and spent his time in 
reading, studying charts, drawing plans, and visiting his neighbors. 
Monetary considerations, his half-pay as captain being only £120 
yearly, probably made him eager for a new commission, however. 



52 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1792 

rights and not leave me in the lurch. We have heard enough 
lately of the consequence of the Navigation Act to this 
country. They may take my person: but if sixpence^ 
would save me from a prosecution^ I would not give it." 
It was his great ambition at this time to possess a pony; 
and having resolved to purchase one^ he went to a fair for 
that purpose. During his absence two men abruptly en- 
tered the parsonage, and inquired for him: they then 
asked for Mrs. Nelson : and after they had made her re- 
peatedly declare that she was really and truly the captain's 
wife, presented her with a writ, or notification, on the part 
of the American captains, who now laid their damages at 
£20,000, and they charged her to give it to her husband on 
his return. Nelson having bought his pony, came home with 
it in high spirits. He called out his wife to admire his pur- 
chase, and listen to all its excellences : nor was it till his 
glee had in some measure subsided, that the paper could 
be presented to him. His indignation was excessive : and, 
in the apprehension that he should be exposed to the anxi- 
eties of the suit, and the ruinous consequences which might 
ensue, he exclaimed, " This affront I did not deserve] But 
I'll be trifled with no longer. I will write immediately to 
tlie Treasury, and, if Grovernment will not support me, 
I am resolved to leave the country." Accordingly, he 
informed the Treasury, that if a satisfactory answer were 
not sent him by return of post, he should take refuge in 
France. To this he expected he should be driven, and for 
this he arranged every thing with his characteristic rapi- 
dity of decision. It was settled that he should depart im- 
mediately, and Mrs. Nelson follow under the care of his 
elder brother Maurice, ten days after him. But the answer 
which he received from Government quieted his fears: it 
stated, that Captain Nelson was a very good officer, and 
needed be under no apprehension, for he would assuredly 
be supported. 

Here his disquietude upon this subject seems to have 
ended. Still he was not at ease; he wanted employ- 
ment, and was mortified that his applications for it pro- 
duced no effect. " Not being a man of fortune," he said, 

^ Twelve cents. Let some member of the class investigate and 
make a written report on the monetary systems of Great Britain, 
France, Glermany, and Italy. 



1793] TEE LIFE OP NELSON 53 

"was a crime wliicli lie was unable to get over, and there- 
fore none of the great cared about him. " Eepeatedly he re- 
quested the Admiralty that they would not leave him to 
rust in indolence. During the armament which was made 
upon occasion of the dispute concerning Nootka Sound/ 
he renewed his application : and his steady friend, Prince 
William, who had then been created Duke of Clarence, 
recommended him to Lord Chatham.^ The failure of this 
recommendation wounded him so keenly, that he again 
thought of retiring from the service in disgust; a resolu- 
tion from which nothing but the urgent remonstrances of 
Lord Hood induced him to desist. Hearing that the Rai- 
sonnable, in which he had commenced his career, was to be 
commissioned, he asked for her. This also was in vain: 
and a coolness ensued, on his part, toward Lord Hood, be- 
cause that excellent officer did not use his influence with 
Lord Chatham upon this occasion. Lord Hood, however, 
had certainly sufficient reasons for not interfering; for he 
ever continued his steady friend. In the winter of 1792, 
when we were on the eve of the revolutionary ^ war, Nelson 
once more offered his services, earnestly requested a ship, 
and added, that if their lordships should be pleased to ap- 
point him to a cockle-boat, he should feel satisfied. He 
was answered in the usual official form : ' ' Sir, I have 
received your letter of the 5th instant, expressing your 
readiness to serve, and have read the same to my Lords 
Commissioners of the Admiralty. " On the 12th of De- 
cember he received this dry acknowledgment. The fresh 
mortification did not, however, affect him long: for, by 
the joint interest of the Duke and Lord Hood, he was ap- 
pointed, on the 30th of January following, to the Aga- 
memnon^ of sixty-four guns.^ 

^ Nootka Sound lies to the west of Vancouver Island, which the 
Spaniards, who then held what is now California, Oregon, and Wash- 
ington, had seized. See Green, Eistory of England, p. 762. 

^ Lord Chatham was the eldest brother of William Pitt. 

^ The French Revolution. 

^ The Agamem7ion was a two-decker, and said by Nelson to be the 
finest ship of her class in the navy. Wrecked in 1809, she has had 
two successors in the name, the present one being a turret-ship. 

* The student should observe how excellently the last sentence in 
this chapter serves as a preparation for the first sentence in the 
next. 



CHAPTER III. 

The Agamemnon sent to the Mediterranean — Commencement of 
Nelson's acquaintance with Sir W. Hamilton — He is sent to Cor- 
sica, to co-operate with Paoli — State of affairs in that island — Nelson 
undertakes the siege of Bastia, and reduces it — Takes a distinguished 
part in the siege of Calvi, where he loses ah eye — Admiral Hotham's 
action — The Agamemnon ordered to Genoa to co-operate with the 
Austrian and Sardinian forces — Gross misconduct of the Austrian 
General. 

/^ • 

- There are three things^ yo^iig gentleman/' said Nel- 
son to one of his midshipmen^ " which you are constantly 
to bear in mind. First, yon must always implicitly obey 
orders, without attempting to form any opinion of your 
own respecting their propriety. Secondly, you must con- 
sider every man your enemy who speaks ill of your king : 
and, thirdly, you must hate a Frenchman as you do the 
devil. " ^ With these feelings he engaged in the war. Jo- 
siah, his step-son, went with him as a midshipman. 

The Agamemnon^ was ordered to the Mediterranean, 
under Lord Hood. The fleet arrived in those seas at a 
time when the south of France would willingly have formed 
itself into a separate republic, under the protection of 
England. But good principles had been at that time peril- 

' Subject for inductive study : How far did Nelson live up to this 
creed himself ? 

^ " The Agamemnon, or, as she was humorously styled by the sea- 
men, the 'Old Eggs-and-Bacon,' was wrecked when under the com- 
mand of Captain Rose in Maldonado Bay, in the river Plate. This 
happened on the 20th of June, in the year 1809. Many of Nelson's 
hardy tars were still on board of her ; and I well remember witness- 
ing the distress pictured on many a furrowed countenance, as they 
were compelled to quit a ship so powerfully endeared to them by 
old associations. The address of Captain Rose, previously to their 
being distributed amongst the fleet (under Admiral de Courcy), 
drew tears from many an eye that had looked undismayed at danger, 
even when death appeared inevitable." — The Old Sailor (quoted in 
Bohn's edition). 



1793] THE LIFE OF NELSON' 55 

ously abused by ignorant and profligate men ; and, in its 
fear and hatred of democracy, the English government 
abhorred whatever was republican. Lord Hood could not 
take advantage of the fair occasion which presented itself; 
and which, if it had been seized with vigour, might have 
ended in dividing France: — but he negotiated with the 
people of Toulon, to take possession provisionally of their 
port-^and city; which, fatally for themselves, was done.^ 
Before the British fleet entered, JSTelson was sent with de- 
spatches to Sir William Hamilton, our Envoy at the court 
of Naples. Sir William,^ after his first interview with him, 
told Lady Hamilton ^ that he was about to introduce a little 
man to her, who could not boast of being very handsome ; 
but such a man as, he believed, would one day astonish 
the world. " I have never before," he continued, '^ enter- 
tained an officer at my house; but I am determined to bring 
him here. Let him be put in the room prepared for Prince 
Augustus. ' ' * Thus that acquaintance began which ended 

^It will be remembered that Toulon was re-taken by the French 
chiefly through the skill and energy of a young and then unknown 
artillery officer. Who was he ? See Laughton, Nelson, pp. 50-53. 

=^Sir William Hamilton (1730-1808) was the foster-brother of 
George HI., and held the position of envoy at the Neapolitan court 
for 36 years (1764-1800). The Lady Hamilton here mentioned became 
his second wife in 1791. 

^Lady Hamilton (1763-1815), whose maiden name was Emma 
Lyon, was of very humble birth. Being endowed with great beauty 
and talents, she came under the notice of various polished but 
unprincipled men of the world, and for some years led a dissipated 
life. Among her many admirers were the painter Romney, who 
delighted to represent her in many attitudes and characters, and Mr. 
Charles Greville, the nephew of Sir William Hamilton, by whom she 
was introduced to that gentleman. She was a marvellous horse- 
woman, an inimitable singer, an accomplished actress, clever, bold, 
and fascinating. The defects of her early education were to some 
extent concealed by the polish which long intercourse with people 
themselves polished always brings, but to the last she never learned 
to spell ; these specimens of her orthography will show her weakness in 
that direction :— " wright to me," " partriges," " shillins," *' Bor- 
deux," " onely," " allsoe," " doats." Toward the close of her life, 
she is said to have become enormously large ; one of Nelson's latest 
biographers describes her trenchantly as a "fat, vulgar and immoral 
female." 

^ It seems impossible that Sir William had never entertained an 
officer ; he must have done so scores of times in the ordinary dis- 
charge of his duties as envoy. Prince Augustus was a son of 
George III. 



56 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1793 

in tlie destruction of Nelson's domestic happiness. It 
seemed to threaten no such consequences at its commence- 
ment. He spoke of Lady Hamilton^, in a letter to his wife^ 
as a young woman of amiable manners, who did honour to 
the station to which she had been raised : and he remarked, 
that she had been exceedingly kind to Josiah.^ The acti- 
vity with which the Envoy exerted himself in procuring 
troops from Naples to assist in garrisoning Toulon, so de- 
lighted him, that he is said to have exclaimed, '' Sir Will- 
iam, you are a man after my own heart ! — you do business 
in my own way: " and then to have added, "I am now 
only a captain; but I will, if I live, be at the top of the 
tree." Here, also, that acquaintance with the Nea]3olitan 
court 2 commenced, wliich led to the only blot^ u]3on 
Nelson's public character. The King, who was sincere at 
that time in his enmity to the French, called the English 
the saviours of Italy, and of his dominions in particular. 
He paid the most flattering attention to Nelson, made him 
dine with him, and seated him at his right hand. 

Having accomplished this mission, Nelson received orders 
to join Commodore Linzee, at Tunis.^ On the way, five 
sail of the enemy were discovered olf the coast of Sardinia, 
and he chased them. They proved to be three forty-four 
gun frigates, with a corvette of twenty-four, and a brig of 
twelve. The Agamemnon had only three hundred and 
forty-five men at quarters, having landed part of her crew 
at Toulon, and others being absent in prizes. He came 
near enough one of the frigates to engage her, but at 
great disadvantage, the Frenchman mancBuvring well, and 
sailing greatly better. A running fight of three hours en- 

^Josiah Nisbet, the son of Mrs. Nelson, was, owing to his step- 
father's interest, employed as midshipman in the Agamemnon, as 
lieutenant in the Theseus, and as captain in the Dol2')hi7i and Thalia. 
In a disastrous attack on Santa Cruz, July 24, 1797, he saved Nelson's 
life by binding his arm after it had been shattered by a ball. As an 
officer he was a failure, however, even Nelson finding nothing to 
praise in his stepson. Mr. J. K. Laughton says : "He seems to 
have been of intemperate habits and boorish demeanor. When 
drunk, he was violent and insulting." 

2 Italy in 1793 was made up of a number of petty principalities. 
Some member of the class should present a brief paper upon its state 
at that time. See Knight's Historical Atlas. ^ See pp. 169-175. 

* The success that attended this mission is not brought out with 
sufficient vividness. How may the passage be improved ? 



1793] THE LIFE OF NELSON 57 

sued; during which the other ships, which were at some 
distance, made all speed to come up. By this time the 
enemy were almost silenced, when a favourable change of 
wind, enabled her to get out of reach of the Agamemnon's 
guns: and that ship had received so much damage in the 
rigging that she could not follow her. Nelson, conceiving 
that this was but the forerunner of a far more serious en- 
gagement, called his officers together, and asked them if the 
ship was fit to go into action against such a superior force 
without some small refreshment for the men ? Their an- 
swer was, that she certainly was not. He then gave these v, ^ 
orders: '^ Veer.'the ship, and lay her head to the westward; /)^c 
let some of the best men be employed in refitting the rig- <. 
ging, and the carpenter getting crows ^ and capstern-bars ^ 
to prevent our wounded spars from coming down; and get 
the wine up for the people, with some bread, for it may be 
half an hour good before we are again in action." But 
when the French came up, their comrade made signals of 
distress, and they all hoisted out their boats to go to her 
assistance, leaving the Agamemnon unmolested. 

Nelson found Commodore Linzee at Tunis, where he 
had been sent to expostulate with the Dey upon the im- 
policy of his supporting the revolutionary government of 
France. Nelson represented to him the atrocity of that 
government. Such arguments were of little avail in Bar- 
bary : and when the Dey was told that the French. had put 
their sovereign to death, he dryly replied, that "Nothing 
could be more heinous; and yet, if historians told the truth, 
the English had once done the same." ^ This answer had 
doubtless been suggested by the French about him : they 
had completely gained the ascendancy, and all negotiation 
on our part proved fruitless. Shortly afterwards Nelson 
was detached with a small squadron, to co-operate with 
General Paoli and the anti-Gallican party in Corsica. 

Some thirty years before this time, the heroic patriotism 
of the Corsicans, and of their leader, Paoli,"* had been the 
admiration of England. The history of these brave people 

^ Iron bars used as levers ; called crow-bars in America. 
^ Levers used in turning a capstern or capstan. 
^ To what English king is reference made ? See Green, History 
of England, p. 572 ; Gardiner, History of England, p. 560. 
* Boswell, Johnson's biographer, wrote a famous book about Paoli. 



58 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1794 

is but a melancholy tale.^ The island which they inhabit 
has been abundantly blessed by nature : it has many excel- 
lent harbours; and though the mal-aria, or pestilential at- 
mosphere, which is so deadly in many parts of Italy, and 
of the Italian islands, prevails on the eastern coast, the 
greater part of the country is mountainous and healthy. It 
is about 150 miles long, and from 40 to 50 broad: in cir- 
cumference, some 320 : — a country large enough, and suffi- 
ciently distant from the nearest shores, to have subsisted 
as an independent state, if the welfare and happiness of 
the human race had ever been considered as the end and 
aim of policy. The Moors, the Pisans, the kings of Ara- 
gon, and the G-enoese, successively attempted, and each for 
a time eifected, its conquest. The yoke of the Genoese 
continued longest, and was the heaviest. These petty 
tyrants ruled with an iron rod : and when at any time a 
patriot rose to resist their oppressions, if they failed to 
subdue him by force, they resorted to assassination. At the 
commencement of the last century they quelled one revolt 
by the aid of German auxiliaries, whom the Emperor 
Charles VI. sent against a people who had never offended 
him, and who were fighting for whatever is most dear to 
man. In 1734 the war was renewed; and Theodore, a 
Westphalian baron, then appeared upon the stage. In 
that age men were not accustomed to see adventurers play 
for kingdoms,^ and Theodore became the common talk of 
Europe. He had served in the French armies ; and having 
afterwards been noticed both by Ripperda ^ and Alberoni,"* 
their example, perhaps, inflamed a spirit as ambitious and 
as unprincipled as their own. He employed the whole of 

^ Macaulay's works are full of digressions like this one on Corsica. 
Read a chapter of his history, and you will realize the value of the 
practice. It is possible for a skilful writer to avoid foot-notes and 
to give endless variety and life to his work in this way. 

^ At whom is this sarcastic allusion aimed ? 

^ Jan Willem Ripperda was a Dutch adventurer, who was in suc- 
cession a Roman Catholic colonel, a Protestant deputy, an ambassa- 
dor to Spain, a Roman Catholic, a Spanish duke, a prime minister of 
Spain, an outlaw, a prisoner, a fugitive, commander of the King of 
Morocco's army, and a Mohammedan. He died at Tetuan in 1737. 

^ Giulio Alberoni (1664-1752), from the son of a gardener rose to be 
Prime Minister of Spain and a cardinal. See Gardiner, History of 
England, p. 709 ; Green, History of England, p. 706 ; Mahan, Influ- 
ence of Sea Power on History, pp. 333, 234-236, 238, 239. 



1794] THE LIFE OF NELSON 59 

his means in raising money and procuring arms: then 
wrote to the leaders of the Oorsican patriots, to offer them 
considerable assistance, if they would erect Corsica into an 
independent kingdom, and elect him king. When he 
landed among them, they were struck with his stately per- 
son, his dignified manners, and imposing talents : they be- 
lieyed the magnificent promises of foreign assistance which 
he held out, and elected him king accordingly. Had his 
means been as he represented them, they could not have 
acted more wisely than in thus at once fixing the govern- 
ment of their countr}^, and putting an end to those rival- 
ries among the leading families, which had so often proved 
pernicious to the public weal. He struck ^ money, con- 
ferred titles, blocked up the fortified towns which were 
held by the Genoese, and amused the people with promises 
of assistance for about eight months: then, perceiving 
that they cooled in their affections toward him, in propor- 
tion as their expectations were disappointed, he left the 
island, under the plea of expediting himself the succours 
which he had so long awaited. Such was his address, 
that he prevailed upon several rich merchants in Hol- 
land, particularly the Jews, to trust him with cannon and 
warlike stores to a great amount. They shipped these 
under the charge of a supercargo. Theodore returned with 
this supercargo to Corsica, and put him to death on his ar- 
rival, as the shortest way of settling the account. The 
remainder of his life was a series of deserved afflictions. 
He threw in ^ the stores which he had thus fraudulently 
obtained: but he did not dare to land; for Genoa had now 
called in the French to their assistance, and a price had 
been set upon his head. His dreams of royalty were now 
at an end : he took refuge in London, contracted debts, 
and was thrown into the King's Bench. ^ After lingering 
there many years, he was released under an act of insol- 
vency : in consequence of which, he made over the kingdom 
of Corsica for the use of his creditors, and died shortly after 
his deliverance.^ 

^ Coined. ^ Did he throw them into the sea or the town ? 

^ The student who desires to understand the condition of debtors 
in England in the good old times will read Dickens's Little Dorrit. 

*Sir Robert Walpole got up a subscription for him. Upon his 
tomb was inscribed this epitaph : " Fortune gave this man a king- 
dom and his old age denied him bread." 



60 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1794 

The French, who have never acted a generous part in the 
history of the world, readily entered into the views of the 
Genoese, which accorded with their own policy; for such 
was their ascendancy at Genoa, that in subduing Corsica 
for these allies, they were in fact subduing it for them- 
selves. They entered into the contest, therefore, with their 
usual vigour, and their usual cruelty. It was in vain that 
the Oorsicans addressed a most afl:ecting memorial to the 
court of Versailles; that remorseless government persisted 
in its flagitious project. ^ They poured in troops; dressed 
a part of them like the people of the country, by which 
means they deceived and destroyed many of the patriots; 
cut down the standing corn, the vines, and the olives; set 
fire to the villages, and hung^ all the most' able and active 
men who fell into their hands. A war of this kind may 
be carried on with success against a country so small and 
so thinly peopled as Corsica.^ Having reduced the island 
to perfect servitude, which they called peace,^ the French 
withdrew their forces. As soon as they were gone, men, 
women, and boys rose at once against their oppressors. 
The circumstances of the times were now favourable to 
them; and some British ships, acting as allies of Sardinia, 
bombarded Bastia and San Fiorenzo, and delivered them 
into the hands of the patriots. This service was long re- 
membered with gratitude: the impression made upon our 
own countrymen was less favourable. They had witnessed 
the heart-burning of rival chiefs, and the dissensions among 
the patriots; and perceiving the state of barbarism to 
which continual oppression, and habits of lawless turbu- 
lence, had reduced the nation, did not recollect that the 
vices of the people were owing to their unhaj)py circum- 
stances; but that the virtues which they displayed arose 
from their own nature.^ This feeling, perhaps, influenced 

^ Are Southey's charges against the French just? Are they 
natural? Answer these questions in a brief paper. 

'^ Remember this when you are criticised for not saying " hanged." 

^ Corsica has an area of 3,400 square miles, and at present a popula- 
tion of 270,000. 

* Students who have read Ceesar's Gallic War will notice how that 
author several times uses an expression almost like this in speaking 
of his conquests : "Gallia pacata est," "Allobroges, qui nuper 
pacati sunt," etc. 

^ Is tliere any portion of the British Empire to which this sentence 
might be applied with great propriety to-day? 



1794] THE LIFE OF NELSON 61 

the British court, when, in 1746, Corsica offered to put her- 
self under the protection of Great Britain : an answer was 
returned expressing satisfaction at such a communication, 
hoping that the Oorsicans would preserve the same senti- 
ments, but signifying also that the present was not the 
time for such a measure. 

These brave islanders then formed a government for them- 
selves, under two leaders, Gaffori and Matra, who had the 
title of protectors. The latter is represented as a partisan 
of Genoa, favouring the views of the oppressors of his 
country by the most treasonable means. Gaifori was a 
hero worthy of old times. His eloquence was long remem- 
bered with admiration. A band of assassins was once 
advancing against him; he heard of their approach, went 
out to meet them; and, with a serene dignity, which over- 
awed them, requested them to hear him : he then spoke to 
them so forcibly of the distresses of their country, her in- 
tolerable wrongs, and the hopes and views of their brethren 
in arms, that the very men who had been hired to murder 
him feir at his feet, implored his forgiveness, and joined 
his banner. While he was besieging the Genoese in Corte, 
a part of the garrison perceiving the nurse with his eldest 
son, then an infant in arms, straying at a little distance 
from the camp, suddenly sallied out and seized them. The 
use they made of their persons was in conformity with 
their usual execrable conduct. When Gaffori advanced to 
batter the walls, they held up the child directly over that 
part of the wall at which the guns were pointed. The 
Oorsicans stopped; but Gaifori stood at their head, and or- 
dered them to continue the fire. Providentially the child 
escaped, and lived to relate, with becoming feeling, a fact 
so honourable to his father. That father conducted the 
affairs of the island till 1753, when he was assassinated by 
some wretches, set on, it is believed, by Genoa; but cer- 
tainly pensioned by that abominable government after the 
deed. He left the country in such a state, that it was en- 
abled to continue the war two years after his death without 
a leader: then they found one worthy of their cause in 
Pasquale de Paoli. 

Paoli's father was one of the patriots who effected their 
escape from Corsica when the French reduced it to obe- 
dience. He retired to Naples, and brought up this his 



62 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1794 

youngest son in the Neapolitan service. The Corsicans 
heard of young Paoli's abilities, and solicited him. to come 
over to his native country, and take the command. He 
did not hesitate long : his father, who was too far advanced 
in years to take an active part himself, encouraged him to 
go; and when they separated, the old man fell on his neck, 
and kissed hiui, and gave him his blessing. "My son," 
said he, "perhaps I may never see you more; but in my 
mind I shall ever be present with you. Your design is 
great and noble ; and I doubt not but God will bless you in 
it. I shall devote to your cause the little remainder of my 
life, in offering up my prayers for your success. ' ' When 
Paoli assumed the command, he found all things in confu- 
sion; he formed a democratical government, of which he 
was chosen chief; restored the authority of the laws; es- 
tablished an university; and took such measures, both for 
repressing abuses and moulding the rising generation, that, 
if France had not interfered, upon its wicked and detest- 
able principle of usurpation, Corsica might, at this day, 
have been as free, and flourishing, and happy a common- 
wealth, as any of the Grecian states in the days of their 
prosperity. The Genoese were at this time driven out of 
their fortified towns, and must in a short time have been 
expelled. France was indebted some millions of livres to 
Genoa : it was not convenient to pay this money ; so the 
French minister proposed to the Genoese, that she should 
discharge the debt by sending six battalions to serve in 
Corsica for four years. The indignation Avhich this conduct 
excited in all generous hearts was forcibly expressed by 
Eousseau,^ Avho, with all his errors, was seldom deficient in 
feeling for the wrongs of humanity. "You Frenchmen," 
said he, writing to one of that people, ' ' are a thoroughly 
servile nation, thoroughly sold to tyranny, thoroughly 
cruel, and relentless in persecuting the unhappy. If 

^Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) has been called by James 
Russell Lowell the father of modern democracy. " Without him," 
adds the same author, " our Declaration of Independence would have 
wanted some of those sentences in which the immemorial longings of 
the poor and the dreams of the solitary enthusiasts were at last 
affirmed as axioms in the manifesto of a nation, so that all the world 
might hear." Some member of the class may be detailed to read 
Rousseau's Discourse on the Origin of Inequality among Men, for 
the purpose of discovering what are the phrases thus alluded to. 



1794] THE LIFE OF NELSON 63 

you knew of a free man at the other end of the world;, 
I believe you would go thither for the mere pleasure of 
extirpating him. V 

The immediate object of the French happened to be 
purely mercenary : they wanted to clear off their debt to 
Genoa; and as the presence of their troops in the island 
effected this, they aimed at doing the people no farther 
mischief. Would that the conduct of England had been 
at this time free from reproach! but a proclamation was 
issued by the English government, after the peace of Paris, 
prohibiting any intercourse with the rebels of Corsica. 
Paoli said, he did not expect this from Great Britain. 
This great man was deservedly proud of his country: — " I 
defy Eome, Sparta, or Thebes," he would say, ''to show 
me thirty years of such patriotism as Corsica can boast!" ^ 
Availing himself of the respite which the inactivity of the 
French and the weakness of the Genoese allowed, he prose- 
cuted his plans of civilising the people. He used to say, 
that though he had an unspeakable pride in the prospect 
of the fame to which he aspired ; yet, if he could but ren- 
der his countrymen happy, he would be content to be for- 
gotten. His own importance he never affected to under- 
value. " We are now to our country," said he, " like the 
prophet Elisha, stretched over the dead body of the Shu- 
namite, — eye to eye, nose to nose, mouth to mouth. It 
begins to recover warmth, and to revive : I hope it will yet 
regain full health and vigour." 

But when the four years were expired, France purchased 
the sovereignty of Corsica from the Genoese for forty mill- 
ions of livres:^ as if the Genoese had been entitled'^to sell 
it; as if any bargain or sale could justify one country in 
taking possession of another against the will of the in- 
habitants, and butchering all who oppose the usurpation! 
Among the enormities which France has committed, this 
action seems but as a speck; yet the foulest murderer that 
ever suffered by the hands of the executioner has infi- 
nitely less guilt upon his soul than the statesman who con- 
cluded this treaty, and the monarch who sanctioned and 
confirmed it. A desperate and glorious resistance was 
made; but it was in vain; no power interposed in behalf 

^ Can they ? 

^ A livre is about twenty cents. 



64 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1794 

of these injured islanders, and the French poured in as 
many troops as were required. They offered to confirm 
Paoli in the supreme authority, only on condition that he 
would hold it under their government. His answer was, 
" That the rocks which surrounded him should melt away 
before he would betray a cause which he held in common 
with the poorest Oorsican. " ^ This people then set a price 
upon his head. During two campaigns he kept them at 
bay : they overpowered him at length : he was driven to the 
shore, and having escaped on ship-board, took refuge in 
England. It is said that Lord Shelburne resigned his seat 
in the cabinet because the ministry looked on, without at- 
tempting to prevent France from succeeding in this abomi- 
nable and important act of aggrandisement.^ In one re- 
spect, however, our country acted as became her. Paoli 
was welcomed with the honours which he deserved, a pen- 
sion, of £1200 per annum was immediately granted him; 
and provision was liberally made for his elder brother and 
hig^nephew. 

.{Above twenty years Paoli remained in England, enjoying 
the friendship of the wise, and the admiration of the good.^ 
But when the French Revolution ^ began, it seemed as if 
the restoration of Corsica was at hand. The whole coun- 
try, as if animated by one spirit, rose and demanded li- 
berty; and the National Assembly passed a decree, recognis- 
ing the island as a department of France, and therefore 
entitled to all the privileges of the new French constitu- 
tion. This satisfied the Oorsicans, which it ought not to 
have done; and Paoli, in whom the ardour of youth was 
past, seeing that his countrymen were contented, and be- 
lieving that they were about to enjoy a state of freedom, 
naturally wished to return to his native country. He re- 
signed his pension in the year 1790, and appeared at the 

^ Do you remember a similar speech in Scott's Lady of the Lake f 

^ The statement is made by Burke in liis Thoughts on the Present 
Discontents, but is based on insufficient evidence. 

^ Paoli was intimate with the circle that included Johnson, 
Burke, Garrick, Reynolds, Goldsmith, and Boswell. Boswell's Life 
of Johnson contains many references to Paoli. Let one member of 
the class make a collection of these, and another read Boswell's Tour 
in Corsica and present a brief abstract of its contents. 

* Every student should, at his earliest opportunity, read Carlyle's 
celebrated work on this subject. 



1794] THE LIFE OF NELSON- 65 

bar of the Assembly with the Corsican deputies^ when they 
took the oath of fidelity to France. But the course of 
events in France soon dispelled those hopes of a new and 
better order of things, which Paoli, in common with so 
many friends of humankind, had indulged: and perceiv- 
ing, after the execution of the King,^ that a civil war was 
about to ensue, of which no man could foresee the issue, 
he prepared to break the connexion between Corsica and 
the French republic. The Convention,^ suspecting such 
a design, and perhaps occasioning it by their suspicions, 
ordered him to their bar. That way, he well knew, led to 
the guillotine; and, returning a respectful answer, he de- 
clared that he would never be found wanting in his duty, 
but pleaded age and infirmity as a reason for disobeying 
the summons. Their second order was more summary: 
and the French troops who were in Corsica, aided by those 
of the natives, who were either influenced by hereditary 
party feelings, or who were sincere in Jacobinism,^ took 
the field against him. But the people were with him. 
He repaired to Corte, the capital of the island, and was 
again invested with the authority which he had held in 
the noonday of his fame. The Convention, upon this, 
denounced him as a rebel, and set a price upon his head. 
It was not the first time that France had proscribed 

Paoli now opened a correspondence with Lord Hood, 
promising, if the English would make an attack upon St. 
Fiorenzo from the sea, he would, at the same time, attack 
it by land. This promise he was unable to perform : and 
Commodore Linzee, who, in reliance upon it, was sent 
upon this service, was repulsed with some loss. Lord 

^ King Louis XVI. of France. 

'The National Convention lasted from September 17, 1792, until 
November 1, 1795. See Duruy, History of France, pp. 519, 553, 
555, 5G5. 

^Jacobinism was the most radical form taken by republicanism 
during the French Revolution. The name is derived from the fact 
that the meetings of the club to which the leaders Marat, Mirabeau, 
Danton, Barras, and Robespierre belonged were held in an old Jacobin 
or Dominican convent. See Duruy, History of France, pp. 536, 
546, 548, 552, 559, 560, 571, 576, 581; and Guizot, History of France, 
vol. vi., Index. 

^ Paoli again fled to England, dying there in 1807. See Guizot, 
History of France, vol. vi., Index. 

5 



66 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1794 

Hood, who had now been compelled to evacuate Toulon, 
suspected Paoli of intentionally deceiving him. This was 
an injurious ^ suspicion. Shortly afterwards he despatched 
Lieutenant- Colonel (afterwards Sir John) Moore ^ and Ma- 
jor Koehler to confer with him upon a plan of opera- 
tions. Sir Grilbert Elliot accompanied them: and it was 
agreed, that, in consideration of the succours, both mili- 
tary and naval, which his Britannic Majesty should af- 
ford for the purpose of expelling the French, the island of 
Corsica should be delivered into the immediate possession 
of his Majesty, and bind itself to acquiesce in any settle- 
ment he might approve of concerning its government and 
its future relation with Great Britain. While this negoti- 
ation was going on, Nelson cruised off the island with a 
small squadron, to prevent the enemy from throwing in sup- 
plies. Close to St. Fiorenzo the French had a store-house 
of flour, near their only mill : he watched an opportunity, 
and landed 120 men, who threw the flour into the sea, 
burnt the mill, and re-embarked before 1000 men, who 
were sent against him, could occasion him the loss of a 
single man. While he exerted himself thus, keeping out 
all supplies, intercepting despatches, attacking their out- 
posts and forts, and cutting out vessels from the bay, — 
a species of warfare which depresses the spirit of an enemy 
more than it injures them, because of the sense of indi- 
vidual superiority which it indicates in the assailants, — 
troops were landed, and St. Fiorenzo was besieged. The 
French, finding themselves unable to maintain their post, 
sunk one of their frigates, burnt another, and retreated 
to Bastia. Lord Hood submitted to General Dundas, who 
commanded the land forces, a plan for the reduction of 
this place : the general declined co-operating, thinking the 
attempt impracticable, without a reinforcement of 2000 
men, which he expected from Gibraltar. Upon this Lord 
Hood determined to reduce it with the naval force under 
his command; and leaving part of his fleet off Toulon, he 
came with the rest to Bastia. 

^Remember that this word means, etymologically, "full of in- 
justice." 

"^ Sir John Moore has been immortalized by the Rev. Charles Wolfe 
in one of the most familiar poems of the English language. See 
Gardiner, History of Eiigland, p. 864. 



1794] THE LIFE OF NELSON 67 

He showed a proper sense of respect for Nelson's ser- 
vices, and of confidence in his talents, by taking care not 
to briu^ with him any older captain. A few days before 
their arrival, l^elson had had what he called a brush with 
the enemy. " If I had had with me five hundred, troops," 
he said, "to a certainty I should have stormed the town, 
and I believe it might have been carried. Armies go so 
slow, that seamen think they never mean to get forward : 
but I daresay they act on a surer principle, although we 
seldom fail." During this partial action our army ap- 
peared upon the heights; and having reconnoitred the 
place, returned to St. Fiorenzo. " What the general could 
have seen to make a retreat necessary," said Nelson, "I 
cannot comprehend.^ A thousand men would certainly 
take Bastia; with five hundred and Agamemnon I would 
attempt it. My seamen are noAV what British seamen 
ought to be — ^almost invincible. They really mind shot 
no more than peas, 'j General Dundas had not the same 
confidence. "After mature consideration," said he in a 
letter to Lord Hood, " and a personal inspection for sev- 
eral days of all circumstances, local as well as others, I 
consider the siege of Bastia, with our present means and 
force, to be a most visionary and rash attempt; such as no 
officer would be justified in undertaking." Lord Hood 
replied, that nothing would be more gratifying to his feel- 
ings than to have the whole responsibility upon himself; 
and that he was ready and willing to undertake the reduc- 
tion of the place at his own risk, with the force and means 
at present there. General d'Aubant, who succeeded at 
this time to the command of the army, coincided in 
opinion with his predecessor, and did not think it right to 
furnish his lordship with a single soldier, cannon, or any 
stores. Lord Hood could only obtain a few artillerymen; 
and ordering on board that part of the troops who, having 
been embarked as marines, were borne on the ships' books 
as part of their respective complements, he began the siege 
with 1183 soldiers, artillerymen, and marines, and 250 
sailors. " We are but few," said Nelson, " but of the right 

^ General Grant, in his 3Iemoirs, propounds an idea which is essen- 
tially one with Nelson's. He says that it occurred to him, early in 
his career, when awed by the presence of an enemy, that, in all 
probability, that enemy was equally awed by the thought of him. 



68 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1794 

sort; our general at St. Fiorenzo not giving us one of the 
five regiments he has there lying idle. ' ' 

These men were landed on the 4th of April, under Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Villettes and Nelson, who had now acquired, 
from the army the title of Brigadier. Guns were dragged 
by the sailors up heights where it appeared almost impos- 
sible to convey them; — a work of the greatest difficulty; 
and which Nelson said could never, in his opinion, have 
been accomplished by any but British seamen. The sol- 
diers, though less dexterous in such service, because not 
accustomed, like sailors, to habitual dexterity, behaved 
with equal spirit. '' Their zeal," said the Brigadier, "is 
almost unexampled. There is not a man but considers 
himself as personally interested in the event, and deserted 
by the general. It has, I am persuaded, made them equal 
to double their numbers." This is one proof, of many, 
that for our soldiers to equal our seamen, it is only neces- 
sary for them to be equally well commanded. They have 
the same heart and soul, as well as the same flesh and 
blood. Too much may, indeed, be exacted from them in 
a retreat; but set their face toward a foe, and there is 
nothing within the reach of human achievement which 
they cannot perform. The French had improved the lei- 
sure which our military commander had allowed them, and 
before Lord Hood commenced his operations, he had the 
mortification of seeing that the enemy were every day erect- 
ing new works, strengthening old ones, and rendering the 
attempt more difficult. La Oombe St. Michel, the com- 
missioner from the National Convention, who was in the 
city, replied in these terms to the summons of the British 
admiral: " I have hot shot for your ships, and bayonets for 
your troops. A¥hen two-thirds of our men are killed, I will 
then trust to the generosity of the English." The siege, 
however, was not sustained with the firmness which such a 
reply seemed to augur. On the 19th of May a treaty of 
capitulation was begun : that same evening the troops from 
St. Fiorenzo made their appearance on the hills; and, on 
the following morning. General d'Aubant arrived with the 
whole army to take possession of Bastia. 

The event of this siege had justified the confidence of 
the sailors; but they themselves excused the opinion of the 
generals, when they saw what they had done. " I am all 



1794] THE LIFE OF NELSON 69 

astonishment/' said Nelson, "when I reflect upon what 
we have achieved : 1000 regulars, 1500 national guards, and 
a large party of Corsican troops, 4000 in all, laying down 
their arms to 1200 soldiers, marines, and seamen ! I always 
was of opinion, have ever acted up to it, and never had 
any reason to repent it, that one Englishman was equal to 
three Frenchmen. V Had this been an English town, I am 
sure it would not have been taken by them." When it had 
been resolved to attack the place, the enemy were supposed 
to be far inferior in number; and it was not till the whole 
had been arranged, and the siege publicly undertaken, that 
Nelson received certain information of the great superiority 
of the garrison. This intelligence he kept secret, fearing 
lest, if so fair a pretext were afforded, the attempt would 
be abandoned. "My own honour," said he to his wife, 
" Lord Hood's honour, and the honour of our country, 
must have been sacrificed, had I mentioned what I knew: 
therefore you will believe Avhat must have been my feelings 
during the whole siege, when I had often proposals made 
to me to write to Lord Hood to raise it." Those very per- 
sons who thus advised him were rewarded for their conduct 
at the siege of Bastia: Nelson, by whom it might be truly 
affirmed that Bastia was taken, received no reward. Lord 
Hood's thanks to him, both public and j^rivate, were, as he 
himself said, the handsomest which man could give: but 
his signal merits were not so mentioned in the despatches, 
as to make them sufficiently known to the nation, nor to 
obtain for him from Government those honours to which 
they so amply entitled him. This could only have arisen 
from the haste in which the despatches were written ; cer- 
tainly not from any deliberate purpose, for Lord Hood was 
uniformly his steady and sincere friend.^ 

'Compare Dr. Johnson, who, when some one sought to discourage'' 
him with reference to his dictionary by saying that it had taken forty 
Frenchmen twenty years to produce a dictionary, whereas he ex- 
pected to finish his in three, bravely replied: "As eight hundred is 
to three, so is the proportion of an Englishman to a Frenchman." 
Is the boast justified by history ? Consult the histories with refer- 
ence to the battles of Cressy, Poitiers, Agincourt, Blenheim, and 
Waterloo. Then write a paragraph in comment. 

^ Probably Southey is mistaken. The likelihood is that Nelson 
had acted in violation of orders, or that to his commander his ser- 
vices did not appear as great as to his biographer, not being then 



70 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1794 

One of the cartel's^ sliips^, which carried the garrison of 
Bastia to Toulon, brought back intelligence that the French 
were about to sail from that port; — such exertions had they 
made to repair the damage done at the evacuation, and to 
fit out a fleet. The intelligence was speedily verified. Lord 
Hood sailed in quest of them toward the islands of the 
Hieres. The Agamem?io?i was with him. " I pray God," 
said Nelson, writing to his wife, "that we may meet their 
fleet. If any accident should happen to me,^ I am sure my 
conduct will be such as will entitle you to the royal favour; 
— not that I have the least idea but I shall return to you, 
and full of honour: — if not, the Lord's will be done. My 
name shall never be a disgrace to those who may belong to 
me. The little I have, I have given to you, except a small 
annuity ; I wish it was more ; but I have never got a farthing 
dishonestly — it descends from clean hands. Whatever 
fate awaits me, I pray God to bless you, and preserve you, 
for your son's sake." With a mind thus prepared, and 
thus confident, his hopes and wishes seemed on the point 
of being gratified, when the enemy were discovered close 
under the land, near St. Tropez. The wind fell, and pre- 
vented Lord Hood from getting between them and the 
shore, as he designed: boats came out from Antibes and 
other places, to their assistance, and towed them within 
the shoals in Gourjean Koads,^ where they were j)rotected 
by batteries on isles St. Honore and St. Marguerite, and 
on Cape Garousse.^ Here the English admiral planned a 
new mode of attack, meaning to double^ on five of the 
nearest ships; but the wind again died away, and it was 
found that they had anchored in compact order, guarding 
the only passage for large ships. There was no way of 
efiecting this passage, except by towing or warping the ves- 

magnified by the brilliant reflection cast over them by his achieve- 
ments at Aboukir, Copenhagen, and Trafalgar. 

^ A vessel carrying a flag of truce. Literally, a vessel carrying an 
agreement written on a little card (cartel). Is "cartel's ships" a 
misprint for cartel-ship, or is " cartel " here used in the sense of a 
fleet carrying a flag of truce ? 

^ " Si mihi quid accidat " is the true Roman for an allusion to the 
possibility of death. 

^ Properly Golie Jouan. ^ Cape Garoupe. 

® The plan was employed by Nelson at Aboukir. The tremendous 
advantages it gave, when sails were the only method of propulsion 
and the attacking force was to windward, are self-evident. 



1794] TEE LIFE OF NELSON 71 

sels; and this rendered the attempt impracticable. For 
this time the enemy escaped : but Nelson bore in mind the 
admirable plan of attack which Lord Hood had devised, 
and there came a day when they felt its tremendous effects. 
The Agamemnon was now despatched to co-operate at 
the siege of Calvi with General Sir Charles Stuart; an 
officer who, unfortunately for his country, never had an 
adequate field allotted him for the display of those eminent 
talents, which were, to all who knew him, so conspicuous.* 
N"elson had less responsibility here than at Bastia; and was 
acting with a man after his own heart, who was never spar- 
ing of himself, and slept every night in the advanced bat- 
tery. But the service was not less hard than that of the 
former siege. ^^ We will fag ourselves to death," said he 
to Lord Hood, "before any blame shall lie at our doors. 
I trust it will not be forgotten that twenty-five pieces of 
heavy ordnance have been dragged to the different batter- 
ies, mounted, and all but three fought by seamen, except 
one artillery-man to point the guns." The climate proved 
more destructive than the service; for this was during the 
period of the "lion sun,"^ as they there call our season 
of the "dog-days." Of 2000 men above half were sick, 
and the rest like so many phantoms. Nelson described 
himself as the reed among the oaks, bowing before the storm 
when they wxre laid low by it. " All the prevailing disor- 
ders have attacked me," said he, "but I have not strength 
enough for them to fasten on." The loss from the enemy 
was not great; but Nelson received a serious injury: a 
shot struck the ground near him, and drove the sand and 
small gravel into one of his eyes. He spoke of it slightly 
at the time : writing the same day to Lord Hood, he only 
said, that he got a little hurt that morning, not much; 
and the next day he said, he should be able to attend his 
duty in the evening. In fact, he suffered it to confine him 
only one day; but the sight was lost.^ 

* Lord Melville was fully sensible of these talents, and bore testi- 
mony to them in the handsomest manner after Sir Charles's death. 
— Southey^s Note. 

^Nelson spoke of the " lion sun'* in a letter to the Duke of Clar- 
ence. The period when the dog-star Sirius rises and sets with the 
sun is known as that of the " dog-days." 

^ Nelson wrote to Mrs. Nelson as follows, August 18, 1794 : "A 
shot having hit our battery, the splinters and stones from it struck 



72 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1794 

After the fall of Calvi, liis services were, by a strange 
omission, altogether overlooked: and his name was not 
even mentioned in the list of wounded. This was noways 
imputable to the Admiral, for he sent home to Govern- 
ment Nelson's journal of the siege, that they might fully 
understand the nature of his indefatigable and unequalled 
exertions. If those exertions were not rewarded in the 
conspicuous manner which they deserved, the fault was in 
the administration of the day, not in Lord Hood. Nelson 
felt himself neglected. "One hundred and ten days," 
said he, "I have been actually engaged, at sea and on 
shore, against the enemy; three actions against ships, two 
against Bastia in my ship, four boat actions, and two vil- 
lages taken, and twelve sail of vessels burnt. I do not 
know that any one has done more. I have had the comfort 
to be always applauded by my Commander-in-Chief, but 
never to be rewarded: and, what is more mortifying, for 
services in which I have been wounded, others have been 
praised, who, at the same time, were actually in bed far 
from the scene of action. They have not done me jus- 
tice. But, never mind, I'll have a ' Gazette ' of my own." 
How amply was this second-sight of glory realised ! ^ 

The health of his ship's company had now, in his own 
words, been miserably torn to pieces by as hard service as 
a ship's crew ever performed : 150 were in their beds when 
he left Calvi; of them he lost fifty; and believed that the 
constitutions of the rest were entirely destroyed. He was 
now sent with despatches to Mr. Drake,^ at Genoa, and 
had his first interview with the Doge. The French had, 
at this time, taken possession of Vado Bay, in the Genoese 
territory ; and Nelson foresaw, that if their thoughts were 
bent on the invasion of Italy, they would accomplish it the 
ensuing spring. "The allied powers," he said, "were 

me with great violence on the face and breast. ... I most for- 
tunately escaped, having only my right eye nearly deprived of sight. 
It was cut down [diminished in size ?], but is so far recovered as for 
me to be able to distinguish light from darkness. As to all purposes 
of use it is gone. However, the blemish is nothing, not to be per- 
ceived unless told. The pupil is nearly the size of the blue part ; 1 
don't know the name." 

^ "It cost me," said Nelson, "£300, an eye, and a cut across the 
back. I have said a great deal about myself, but it is all true." 

^ The English minister. 



1795] THE LIFE OF NELSON . 73 

jealous of each other; and none but England was hearty 
in the cause." His wish was for peace, on fair terms, be- 
cause England, he thought, was draining herself, to main- 
tain allies who would not fight for themselves. Lord Hood 
had now returned to England, and the command devolved 
on Admiral Hotham. The affairs of the Mediterranean 
wore at this time a gloomy aspect. The arts, as well as the 
arms of the enemy, were gaining the ascendancy there. 
Tuscany concluded peace, relying upon the faith of France, 
which was, in fact, placing itself at her mercy. Corsica 
was in danger. We had taken that island for ourselves, 
annexed it formally to the crown of Great Britain, and 
given it a constitution as free as our own. This was done 
with the consent of the majority of the inhabitants: and 
no transaction between two countries was ever more fairly 
or legitimately conducted: yet our conduct was unwise; — 
the island is large enough to form an independent state, 
and such we should have made it, under our protection, as 
long as protection might be needed. The Corsicans would 
then have felt as a nation; but, when one party had given 
up the country to England, the natural consequence was, 
that the other looked to Erance. The question proposed 
to the people was, to which would they belong ? Our lan- 
guage and our religion were against us; our unaccommo- 
dating manners, it is to be feared, still more so. The French 
were better politicians. In intrigue they have ever been 
unrivalled; and it now became apparent that, in spite of 
old wrongs, which ought never to have been forgotten or 
forgiven, their partisans were daily acquiring strength. It 
is part of the policy of France, and a wise policy it is, 
to impress upon other powers the opinion of its strength, 
by lofty language, and by threatening before it strikes; a 
system which, while it keeps up the spirit of its allies, 
and perpetually stimulates their hopes, tends also to dismay 
its enemies. Corsica was now loudly threatened. The 
French, who had not yet been taught to feel their own in- 
feriority upon the seas, braved us, in contempt, upon that 
element. They had a superior fleet in the Mediterranean, 
and they sent it out with express orders to seek the English 
and engage them. Accordingly, the Toulon fleet, consist- 
ing of seventeeu ships of the line, and five smaller vessels, 
put to sea. Admiral Hotham received this information at 



74 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1795 

Leghorn, aud sailed immediately in searcli of tliem. He 
had with him fourteen sail of the line, and one IsTeapolitan 
seventy-four; but his ships were only half manned, con- 
taining but 7650 men, whereas the enemy had 16,900. 
He soon came in sight of them: a general action was ex- 
pected; and N"elson, as was his custom on such occasions, 
wrote a hasty letter to his wife, as that which might pos- 
sibly contain his last farewell. " The lives of all," said he, 
''are in the hands of Him who knows best whether to 
preserve mine or not : my character and good name are in 
my own keeping." 

But however confident the French government might be 
of their naval superiority, the officers had no such feeling; 
and after manoeuvring for a day, in sight of the English 
fleet, they suffered themselves to be chased. One of their 
ships, the (Ja Ira, of eighty-four guns, carried away ^ her 
main and fore top -masts. The Inconstant frigate fired at 
the disabled ship, but received so many shot that she was 
obliged to leave her. Soon afterwards a French frigate 
took the (J a Ira in tow; and the Sans Culottes, one hun- 
dred and twenty, and the Jean Barras, seventy-four, kept 
about gunshot^ distance on her weather bow.^ The Aga- 
memnon stood towards her, having no ship of the line to 
support her within several miles. As she drew near, the 
(7a Ira fired her stern guns so truly, that not a shot missed 
some part of the ship, and, latterly, the masts were struck 
by every shot. It had been ISTelson's intention not to fire be- 
fore he touched her stern; ^ but seeing how impossible it was 
he should be supported, and how certainly the Agamem7ion 
must be severely cut up, if her masts were disabled, he 
altered his plan according to the occasion. As soon, there- 
fore, as he was within a hundred yards of her stern, he 
ordered the helm to be put a-starboard, and the driver and 
after-sails to be brailed up and shivered; and, as the ship 
fell off, gave the enemy her whole broadside.^ They in- 

^ Lost overboard. 

^ About 250 yards. 

^ Opposite the bow, on the side of the ship toward the wind. 

* Came up with. 

^ Starboard is the right side of the ship, looking forward ; port, the 
left. To put the helm a-starboard is to turn the ship's head to port. 
A driver-sail is a fore-and-aft sail on the mizzen-mast. This was 
brailed up; i.e., tied up with the ropes called brails, used to pull 



1795] TEE LIFE OF NELSON 75 

stantly braced up the after-yards, l^nt the helm a-port, and 
stood after her again. This manoeiivre he practised for two 
hours and a quarter, never allowing the (^a Ira to get a 
single gun from either side to bear on him; and when 
the French fired their after-guns now, it was no longer 
with coolness and precision, for every shot went far a-head. 
By this time her sails were hanging in tatters, her mizen- 
top-mast, mizen-top-sail, and cross-jack-yards, shot away. 
But the frigate which had her in tow hove in stays, and 
got her round. 1 Both these French ships now brought 
their guns to bear, and opened their fire. The Agamem- 
non passed them within half -pistol shot; almost every shot 
passed over her, for the French had elevated their guns for 
the rigging, and for distant firing, and did not think of 
altering the elevation. As soon as the Agamemnon's after- 
guns ceased to bear, she hove in stays, keeping a constant 
fire as she came round; and being worked, said Nelson, 
with as much exactness as if she had been turning into 
Spithead. On getting round, he saw that the Sans Cidottes, 
which had wore, with many of the enemy's ships, was 
under his lee bow, and standing to leeward. The Admiral,^ 
at the same time, made the signal for the van ships to join 
him. Upon this ISTelson bore away, and prepared to set all 
sail; and the enemy, having saved their ship, hauled close 
to the wind, and opened upon him a distant and ineffectual 
fire. Only seven of the Agamemnon's men were hurt — a 
thing which Nelson himself remarked as wonderful: her 
sails and rigging were very much cut, and she had many 

up the large sails. The after-sails are all those on the mizzen-mast 
and on the stays between the mainmast and mizzen-mast. These were 
shivered ; i.e., the ropes holding them fast at the bottom were loos- 
ened so that they offered no resistance to the wind. As the wind 
blew toward the starboard side, and only the forward sails were left 
in a position to offer resistance to it, the effect of thus manipulat- 
ing the sails was to aid the action of the rudder. The result was 
that the Agamemnon presented her starboard broadside to the stern 
of the ^a Ira. As soon as this was discharged the after-sails were 
set again, and the Agamemnon pursued her antagonist until once 
more within range, when the manceuvre was repeated. 

^ I.e., changed to the other tack, the result being that the broad- 
sides of both bore on the Agamemnon. 

^ The English admiral. Some member of the class should make a 
special study of this page, construct diagrams of the action, and 
write a paper which should be read to the rest. 



76 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1795 

sliots in her hull, and some between wind and water. ^ The 
(7« Ira lost 110 men that day, and was so cut up, that she 
could not get a top-mast aloft during the night. 

At daylight, on the following morning, the English 
ships were taken aback with a fine breeze at JST.W., while 
the enemy's fleet kept the southerly wind. The body of 
their fleet was about five miles distant; the (7« Ira, and 
the Censeur, seventy-four, which had her in tow, about 
three and a half. All sail was made to cut these ships off; 
and, as the French attempted to save them, a partial action 
was brought on. The Agamemnon was engaged with her 
yesterday's antagonist; but she^ had to fight on both sides 
the ship at the same time. The (7« Ira and the Censeur 
fought most gallantly: the first lost nearly 300 men, in addi- 
tion to her former loss; the last 350. Both at last struck: 
and Lieutenant Andrews, of the Agamemnon, brother to the 
lady to whom Nelson had become attached in France, and, 
in Nelson's own words, "as gallant an officer as ever 
stepped a quarter-deck," ^ hoisted English colours on board 
them both. The rest of the enemy's ships behaved very 
ill. As soon as these vessels had struck, ISTelson went 
to Admiral Hotham,^ and proposed that the two prizes 
should be left with the Illustrious and Courageux, which 
had been crippled in the action, and with four frigates, 
and that the rest of the fleet should pursue the enemy, 
and follow up the advantage to the utmost. But his reply 
was — " We must be contented; we have done very well." — 
" Now," said Nelson, "had we taken ten sail, and allowed 

^Between wind and water; i.e., the space which, owing to the 
rolling of the ship, is sometimes above and sometimes below the 
water-line. 

^ Is the Agamemnon or her antagonist meant ? Point out on 
pages 75 and 76 some other cases of ambiguity in the use of pro- 
nouns. Rewrite the sentences in question so as to remove the fault. 

^ The quarter-deck is that part of a war- vessel's spar-deck between 
the poop and the mainmast ; it is reserved for officers. 

^ Hotham's timidity led to far-reaching results. It seems probable 
that, had he attacked the French fleet as Nelson wished, nothing 
could have saved it. With their fleet gone, the French could not 
have invaded Italy ; Spain would have remained true to England ; 
and Bonaparte's expedition to Egypt would not have been thought 
of. In the words of Mr. J. K. Laughton : " That the rise and gran- 
deur of Bonaparte's career are thus bound up with Hotham's irreso- 
lution on July 13th, has perhaps not been so generally noticed or 
understood as the interest of the fact deserves." 



1795] THE LIFE OF NELSON 77 

the eleventh to escape, when it had been possible to have 
got at her, I coald never have called it well done.* Good- 
all backed me : I got him to write to the Admiral ; but it 
would not do. We should have had such a day as, I be- 
lieve, the annals of England never produced." In this 
letter, the character of Nelson fully manifests itself. "I 
wish," said he, ^^ to be an admiral, and in the command of 
the English fleet : I should very soon either do much, or be 
ruined : my disposition cannot bear tame and slow meas- 
ures. Sure I am, had I commanded on the 14th, that 
either the whole Erench fleet would have graced my tri- 
umph, or I should have been in a confounded scrape." 
What the event would have been, he knew from his pro- 
phetic feelings and his own consciousness of power: and 
we also know it now, for Aboukir and Trafalgar have 
told it. 

The (7« Ira and Censeur probably defended themselves 
with more obstinacy in this action, from a persuasion that, 
if they struck, no quarter would be given; because they had 
fired red-hot shot, and had. also a preparation, sent, as they 
said, by the Convention from Paris, which seems to have 
been of the nature of the Greek fire ; ^ for it became liquid 
when it was discharged, and water would not extinguish its 
flames. This combustible was concealed with great care in 
the captured ships: like the red-hot shot, it had been found 
useless in battle. Admiral Hotham's action saved Corsica 
for the time; but the victory had been incomplete, and the 
arrival at Toulon of six sail of the line, two frigates, and 
two cutters, from Brest, gave the Erench a superiority 
which, had they known how to use it, would materially 
have endangered the British Mediterranean fleet. That 
fleet had been greatly neglected during Lord Chatham's 
administration at the Admiralty ; and it did not, for some 
time, feel the beneficial effect of his removal. Lord Hood 
had gone home to represent the real state of affairs, and 
solicit reinforcements adequate to the exigencies of the 
time, and the importance of the scene of action. But that 

* "I can, entre nous" says Sir William Hamilton, in a letter to 
Nelson, "perceive that my old friend, Hotham, is not quite awake 
enough for such a command as that of the king's fleet in the Medi- 
terranean, although he appears the best creature imaginable." — 
Southey's Note. 

^ See Gibbon, DecU?ie and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. lii. 



78 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1795 

fatal error of under-proportioning the force to the service 
— that ruinous economy ;, which^ by sparing a little^ renders 
all that is spent useless, infected the British councils; and 
Lord Hood, not being able to obtain such reinforcements 
as he knew were necessary, resigned the command. '' Sure- 
ly," said Nelson, "the people at home have forgotten 
us." Another !N"eapolitan seventy-four joined Admiral 
Hotham; and Nelson observed with sorrow, that this was 
matter of exultation to an English fleet. When the store- 
ships and victuallers from Gibraltar arrived, their escape 
from the enemy was thought wonderful ; and yet, had they 
not escaped, " the game," said Nelson, " was up here. At 
this moment our operations are at a stand for want of ships 
to support the Austrians in getting possession of the sea- 
coast of the King of Sardinia; and, behold, our Admiral 
does not feel himself equal to show himself, much less to 
give assistance in their operations." It was reported that 
the French were again out with eighteen or twenty sail. 
The combined British and Neapolitan were but sixteen; 
should the enemy be only eighteen, Nelson made no doubt 
of a complete victory, but if there were twenty, he said, 
it was not to be expected : and a battle, without complete 
victory, would have been destruction, because another mast 
was not to be got on that side Gibraltar. At length Admi- 
ral Man arrived with a squadron from England. '^ A¥hat 
they can mean by sending him with only five sail of the 
line," said Nelson, "is truly astonishing: but all men are 
alike, and we in this country do not find any amendment 
or alteration from the old Board of Admiralty. They 
should know that half the ships in the fleet require to go 
to England; and that long ago they ought to have rein- 
forced us." 

About this time Nelson was made Colonel of Marines : ^ a 
mark of approbation which he had long wished for rather 
than expected. It came in good season, for his spirits were 
oppressed by the thought that his services had not been 
acknowledged as they deserved ; and it abated the resent- 
ful feeling which would else have been excited by the an- 
swer to an application to the War-Office. During his four 

^ This post was a sinecure conferred upon four captains for good 
service, and relinquished when the incumbent was promoted. Pen- 
sions are now given instead. 



1795] THE LIFE OF NELSON 79 

months' land service in Corsica, he had lost all his ship- 
furnitiire, owing to the movements of a camp. Upon this 
he wrote to the Secretary-at-War, briefly stating what his 
services on shore had been, and saying, he trusted it was not 
asking an improper thing to request that the same allow- 
ance might be made to him which would be made to a land 
officer of his rank, which, situated as he was, would be 
that of a Brigadier- Greneral: if this could not be accorded, 
he hoped that his additional expenses would be paid him. 
The answer which he received was, ' ' that no pay had ever 
been issued under the direction of the War-Office to offi- 
cers of the navy serving with the army on shore." 

He now entered upon a ncAV line of service. The Aus- 
trian and Sardinian armies, under General de Vins, re- 
quired a British squadron to co-operate with them in driv- 
ing the French from the Eiviera di Genoa; and as Nelson 
had been so much in the habit of soldiering, it was imme- 
diately fixed that the Brigadier should go. He sailed from 
St. Fiorenzo on this destination; but fell in, off Cape del 
Mele, with the enemy's fleet, who immediately gave his 
squadron chase. The chase lasted four-and-twenty hours; 
and owing to the fickleness of the wind, the British ships 
were somewhat hard pressed : but the want of skill on the 
part of the French gave them many advantages. Nelson 
beat his way back to St. Fiorenzo, where the fleet, which 
was in the midst of watering and refitting, had, for seven 
hours, the mortification of seeing him almost in possession 
of the enemy, before the wind would allow them to put 
out to his assistance. The French, however, at evening, 
went off, not choosing to approach nearer the shore. Dur- 
ing the night. Admiral Hotham, by great exertions, got 
under weigh; and, having sought the enemy four days, 
came in sight of them on the fifth. Baffling winds and 
vexatious calms, so common in the Mediterranean, rendered 
it impossible to close with them; only a partial action 
could be brought on ; and then the firing made a perfect 
calm.i The French, being to windward, drew in shore; 
and the English fleet was becalmed six or seven miles to 
the westward. UAlcide, of seventy-four guns, struck; but 
before she could be taken possession of, a box of combusti- 

^ Some member of the class should investigate and write up the 
physics of this result. 



80 TBE LIFE OF NELSON [1795 

bles in her fore-top took fire^ and tlie unhappy crew ex- 
perienced how far more perilous their inventions were to 
themselves than to their enemies. So rapid was the con- 
flao-ration^ that the French in their official account say, the 
hull, the masts, and sails, all seemed to take fire at the 
same moment; and though the English boats were put out 
to the assistance of the poor wretches on hoard, not more 
than 200 could be saved. The Agamemnon, and Captain 
Rowley in the Cumberland, were just getting into close 
action a second time, when the Admiral called them off, the 
wind now being directly into the Gulf of Frejus, where the 
enemy anchored after the evening closed. 

Nelson now proceeded to his station with eight sail of 
frigates under his command. Arriving at Genoa, he had 
a conference with Mr. Drake, the British Envoy to that 
state; the result of which was, that the object of the Brit- 
ish must be, to put an entire stop to all trade between 
Genoa, France, and the places occupied by the French 
troops; for, unless this trade were stopj)ed, it would be 
scarcely possible for the allied armies to hold their situa- 
tion, and impossible for them to make any progress in 
driving the enemy out of the Riviera di Genoa. Mr. 
Drake was of opinion, that even Nice might fall for want 
of supplies, if the trade with Genoa were cut off. This 
sort of blockade Nelson could not carry on without great 
risk to himself. A captain in the Nav}^, as he rej^resented 
to the Envoy, is liable to prosecution for detention and 
damages. This danger was increased by an order which 
had then lately been issued; by which, when a neutral ship 
was detained, a complete specification of her cargo was 
directed to be sent to the Secretary of the Admiralty, and 
no legal process instituted against her till the pleasure of 
that Board should be communicated. This was requiring 
an impossibility. The cargoes of ships detained upon this 
station, consisting chiefly of corn, would be spoiled long 
before the orders of the Admiralty could be known; and 
then, if they should hapiDcn to release the vessel, the owners 
would look to the captain for damages. Even the only 
precaution which could be taken against this danger in- 
volved another danger not less to be apjDrehended ; for, if 
the captain should direct the cargo to be taken out, the 
freight paid for, and the vessel released, the agent em- 



1795] TEE LIFE OF NELSON 81 

ployed might prove fraudulent, and become bankrupt; and 
in that case the captain became responsible. Such things 
had happened; Nelson therefore required, as the only 
means for carrying on that service, which was judged es- 
sential to the common cause, without exposing the officers 
to ruin, that the British Envoy should appoint agents to 
pay the freight, release the vessels, sell the cargo, and 
hold the amount till process was had upon it : Government 
thus securing its officers. '^I am acting," said Nelson, 
" not only without the orders of my Commander-in-Chief, 
but, in some measure, contrary to him. However, I have 
not only the support of his Majesty's ministers, both at 
Turin and Genoa, but a consciousness that I am doing 
what is right and proper for the service of our king and 
country. Political courage, in an officer abroad, is as 
highly necessary as military courage." 

This quality, which is as much rarer than military 
courage, as it is more valuable, and without which the 
soldier's bravery is often of little avail, Nelson possessed in 
an eminent degree. His representations were attended to 
as they deserved. Admiral Hotham commended him for 
what he had done; and the attention of Government was 
awakened to the injury which the cause of the allies con- 
tinually suffered from the frauds of neutral vessels. 
'' What changes in my life of activity! " said this indefat- 
igable man. " Here I am; having commenced a co-oper- 
ation with an old Austrian General, almost fancying myself 
charging at the head of a troop of horse ! I do ^ not write 
less than from ten to twenty letters every day; which, with 
the Austrian General and aides-de-camp, and my own little 
squadron, fully epaployed ^ my time. This I like; — active 
service, or none." It was Nelson's mind which supported 
his feeble body through these exertions. He was at this 
time almost blind, and wrote with very great pain. " Poor 
Agmnemnon,^^ he sometimes said, "was as nearly worn out 
as her Captain; and both must soon be laid up to repair." 

When Nelson first saw General de Vins, he thought him 
an able man, who was willing to act with vigour. The 
general charged his inactivity upon the Piedmontese and 
Neapolitans, whom, he said, nothing could induce to act; 

^ Do . . . employed : point out the fault of style, remedy it, 
and state the principle violated. 
6 



82 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1795 

and lie concerted a plan with ISTelson^ for embarking a part 
of the Austrian army, and landing it in tlie rear of the 
French. But the English Commodore soon began to sus- 
pect that the Austrian General was little disposed to any 
active operations. In the hope of spurring him on^ he 
wrote to him, telling him that he had surveyed the coast 
to the westward as far as Nice^ and would undertake to 
embark four or five thousand men^ with their arms, and a 
few days' provisions, on board the squadron, and land them 
within two miles of St. Eemo, with their field-pieces. 
Respecting further provisions for the Austrian army, he 
would provide convoys, that they should arrive in safety; 
and if a re-embarkation should be found necessary, he 
would cover it with the squadron. The possession of St. 
Eemo, as head-quarters for magazines of every kind, would 
enable the Austrian G-eneral to turn his army to the east- 
ward or westward. The enemy at Oneglia would be cut ofi 
from provisions, and men could be landed to attack that 
place whenever it was judged necessary. St. Eemo was 
the only place between Vado and Yille Franche where the 
squadron could lie in safety, and anchor in almost all 
winds. The bay was not as good as Vado for large ships; 
but it had a mole, which Vado had not, where all small 
vessels could lie, and load and unload their cargoes. This 
bay being in possession of the allies, Nice could be com- 
pletely blockaded by sea. General de Vins, affecting, in 
his reply, to consider that ISTelson's proposal had no other 
end than that of obtaining the Bay of St. Eemo as a sta- 
tion for the ships, told him, what he well knew, and had 
expressed before, that Vado Bay was a better anchorage; 
nevertheless, if Monsieur le Commandant Nelson was well 
assured that part of the fleet could winter there, there was 
no risk to which he would not expose himself with plea- 
sure, for the sake of procuring a safe station for the ves- 
sels of his Britannic Majesty. Nelson soon assured the 
Austrian commander that this was not the object of his me- 
morial. He now began to suspect that both the Austrian 
court and their General had other ends in view than the 
cause of their allies. "This army," said he, " is slow be- 
yond all description; and I begin to think that the Emperor 
is anxious to touch another four millions of English 
money. As for the German Generals, war is their trade, 



1795] THE LIFE OF NELSON 83 

and peace is ruin to them; therefore we cannot expect 
that they should have any wish to finish the war. The 
politics of courts are so mean^ that private people would 
be ashamed to act in the same way: all is trick ^ndi finesse, 
to which the common cause is sacrificed. The General 
wants a loophole ; it has for some time appeared to me that 
he means to go no farther than his present position, and to 
lay the miscarriage of the enterprise against Nice, which 
has always been held out as the great object of his army, 
to the non-co-operation of the British fleet, and of the 
Sardinians." 

To prevent this plea, Nelson again addressed de Vins, 
requesting only to know the time, and the number of 
troops ready to embark; then he would, he said, despatch 
a ship to Admiral Hotham, requesting transports, having 
no doubt of obtaining them, and trusting that the plan 
would be successful to its fullest extent. Nelson thought 
at the time, that if the whole fleet were offered him for 
transports, he would find some other excuse; and Mr. 
Drake, who was now appointed to reside at the Austrian 
head-quarters, entertained the same idea of the General's 
sincerity. It was not, however, put so clearly to the proof 
as it ought to have been. He replied, that as soon as Nel- 
son could declare himself ready with the vessels necessary 
for conveying 10,000 men, with their artillery and baggage, 
he would put the army in motion. But Nelson was not 
enabled to do this : Admiral Hotham, who was highly meri- 
torious in leaving such a man so much at his own discre- 
tion, pursued a cautious system, ill-according with the bold 
and comprehensive views of Nelson, who continually re- 
gretted Lord Hood, saying, that the nation had sutlered 
much by his resignation of the Mediterranean command. 
The plan which had been concerted, he said, would astonish 
the French, and perhaps the English. 

There was no unity in the views of the allied powers, no 
cordiality in their co-operation, no energy in their coun- 
cils. The neutral powers assisted France more effectually 
than the allies assisted each other. The Genoese ports were 
at this time filled with French privateers, which swarmed 
out every night, and covered the gulf; and French vessels 
were allowed to tow out of the port of Genoa itself, board 
vessels which were coming in, and then return into the 



g4 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1795 

mole. This was allowed without a remonstrance; while, 
though Nelson abstained most carefully from offering any 
offence to the Genoese territory or flag, complaints were so 
repeatedly made against his squadron, that, he says, it 
seemed a trial who should be tired first : they of complain- 
ing, or he of answering their complaints. But the ques- 
tion of neutrality was soon at an end. An Austrian com- 
missary was travelling from Glenoa towards Vado; it was 
known that he was to sleep at Yoltri, and that he had 
£10,000 with him, — a booty which the French Minister in 
that city, and the captain of a French frigate in that port, 
considered as far more important than the word of honour 
of the one, the duties of the other, and the laws of neutral- 
ity. The boats of the frigate went out with some privateers, 
landed, robbed the commissary, and brought back the money 
to Genoa. The next day men were publicly enlisted in that 
city for the French army : 700 men were embarked, with 
7,000 stand of arms, on board the frigates and other ves- 
sels, who were to land between Voltri and Savona: — there 
a detachment from the French army was to join them, and 
the Genoese peasantry were to be invited to insurrection, 
— a measure for which everything had been prepared. The 
night of the 13tli was fixed for the sailing of this expedi- 
tion : the Austrians called loudly for Nelson to prevent it ; 
and he, on the evening of the 13th, arrived at Genoa. His 
presence checked the plan: the frigate, knowing her de- 
serts, got within the merchant ships, in the inner mole; 
and the Genoese government did not now even demand of 
Nelson respect to the neutral port, knowing that they had 
allowed, if not connived at, a flagrant breach of neutral- 
ity, and expecting the answer which he was prepared to 
return, that it was useless and impossible for him to re- 
spect it longer. 

But though this movement produced the immediate 
effect which Avas designed, it led to ill consequences, which 
Nelson foresaw, but, for want of sufficient force, was una- 
ble to prevent. His squadron was too small for the service 
which it had to perform. He required two seventy-fours, 
and eight or ten frigates and sloops; but when he de- 
manded this reinforcement. Admiral Hotham had left the 
command; Sir Hyde Parker succeeded till the new com- 
mander should arrive; and he immediately reduced it 



1795] TEE LIFE OF NELSON g5 

almost to nothing, leaving liim only one frigate and a brig. 
This was a fatal error. While the Austrian and Sardinian 
troops, whether from the imbecility or the treachery of 
their leaders, remained inactive, the French were preparing 
for the invasion of Italy. Not many days before Nelson 
was thus summoned to Genoa, he chased a large convoy 
into Alassio. Twelve vessels he had formerly destroyed in 
that port, though 2,000 French troops occupied the town: 
this former attack had made them take new measures of 
defence; and there were now above 100 sail of victuallers, 
gunboats, and ships of war. Nelson represented to the 
admiral how important it was to destroy these vessels; and 
offered, with his squadron of frigates, and the Culloden 
and Courageux, to lead himself in the Agamemnon, and 
take or destroy the whole. The attempt was not per- 
mitted: but it was Nelson's belief, that, if it had been 
made, it would have prevented the attack upon the Aus- 
trian army, which took place almost immediately after- 
wards. 

General de Vins demanded satisfaction of the Genoese 
government for the seizure of his commissary; and then, 
without waiting for their reply, took possession of some 
empty magazines of the French, and pushed his sentinels 
to the very gates of Genoa. Had he done so at first, he 
would have found the magazines full; but timed as the 
measure was, and useless as it was to the cause of the al- 
lies, it was in character with the whole of the Austrian 
General's conduct: and it is no small proof of the dexter- 
ity with which he served the enemy, that in such circum- 
stances he could so act with Genoa, as to contrive to put 
himself in the wrong. Nelson was at this time, according 
to his own expression, placed in a cleft stick. Mr. Drake, 
the Austrian Minister, and the Austrian General, all joined 
in requiring him not to leave Genoa : if he left that port 
unguarded, they said, not only the imperial troops at St. 
Pier d'Arena ^ and Voltri would be lost, but the French 
plan for taking post between Voltri and Savona would cer- 
tainly succeed : if the Austrians should be worsted in the 
advanced posts, the retreat by the Bocchetta would be cut 
off; and, if this happened, the loss of the army would be 
imputed to him, for having left Genoa. On the other 

^ St. Pier d'Arena is a western suburb of Genoa. 



86 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1795 

liand^ lie knew, that if he were not at Pietra/ the enemy's 
gunboats would harass the left flank of the Austrians, who, 
if they were defeated, as was to be expected, from the 
spirit of all their operations, would very probably lay their 
defeat to the want of assistance from the Agamemnon. 
Had the force for which Nelson applied been given him, 
he could have attended to both objects: and had he been 
permitted to attack the convoy in Alassio, he would have 
disconcerted the plans of the French, in spite of the Aus- 
trian General. He had foreseen the danger, and pointed 
out how it might be prevented ; but the means of prevent- 
ing it were withheld. The attack was made, as he foresaw ; 
and the gunboats brought their fire to bear upon the Aus- 
trians. Jt so happened, however, that the left flank, which 
was exposed to them, was the only part of the army that 
behaved well; this division stood its ground till the centre 
and the right wing fled, and then retreated in a soldier- 
like manner. General de Vins gave up the command in 
the middle of the battle, pleading ill health. '^ From that 
moment," says Nelson, "not a soldier stayed at his post: 
— it was the devil take the hindmost. Many thousands 
ran away who had never seen the enemy; some of them 
thirty miles from the advanced posts. Had I not, though, 
I own, against my inclination, been kept at Genoa, from 
eight to ten thousand men would have been taken prisoners, 
and, amongst the number. General de Vins himself : but, 
by this means, the pass of the Bocchetta was kept open. 
The purser of the ship, who was at Yado, ran with the 
Austrians eighteen miles without stopping: the men with- 
out arms, officers without soldiers, women without assist- 
ance. The oldest officer, say they, never heard of so com- 
plete a defeat, and certainly without any reason. Thus has 
ended my campaign. — We have established the French re- 
public; which, but for us, I verily believe, would never 
have been settled by such a volatile, changeable people. I 
hate a Frenchman: they are equally objects of my detesta- 
tion, whether royalists or republicans: in some points, I 
believe, the latter are the best." Nelson had a lieutenant 
and two midshipmen taken at Vado : they told him, in their 
letter, that few of the French soldiers were more than three 
or four and twenty years old, a great many not more than 

* Pietra is about six miles south of Cape Noli. 



1795] THE LIFE OF NELSON 87 

fourteen, and all were nearly naked : they were sure, tliey 
said, his barge's crew^ could have beat a hundred of them; 
and that, had he himself seen them, he would not have 
thought, if the world had been covered with such people, 
that they could have beaten the Austrian army.^ 

The defeat of General de Yins gave the enemy possession 
of the Genoese coast from Savona to Voltri; and it de- 
prived the Austrians of their direct communication with 
the English fleet. ^ The Agamemno7i, therefore, could no 
longer be useful on this station, and Nelson sailed for 
Leghorn to refit (about December 8th). "When the ship 
went into dock, there was not a mast, yard, sail, or any 
part of the rigging, but what stood in need of repair, 
having been cut to pieces with shot. The hull was so dam- 
aged, that it had for some time been secured by cables, 
which were served or thrapped round it. 

^ For a number in a barge's crew, see p. 106. 

^ A report of the battle from a French source and another from 
an unprejudiced one should be studied, compared with this and each 
other, and written up for the class. See Duruy, History of France, 
p. 567 ; and Mahan, hiflueiice of Sea Poiver on French Revolution, 
pp. 196-203. 

^ Let a member of the class be detailed to make a special study of 
the geography of this campaign, to draw maps of Genoa and its 
vicinity, and to explain Southey's text. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Sir J. Jervis takes the command — Genoa joins the French — Buo- 
naparte begins his career — Evacuation of Corsica — Nelson hoists his 
broad pendant in the Minerve — Action with the Sabina — Battle off 
Cape St. Vincent — Nelson commands the inner squadron at the 
blockade of Cadiz — Boat action in the Bay of Cadiz — Expedition 
against Teneriffe — Nelson loses an arm — His sufferings in England, 
and recovery. 

Sir Johk Jeryis ^ had now ^ arrived to take the com- 
mand of the Mediterranean fleet. The Agamemnon hav- 
ing, as her captain said, been made as fit for sea as a rotten 
ship could be, Nelson sailed from Leghorn, and joined the 
Admiral in Fiorenzo Bay.^ '' I found him," said he, " anx- 
ious to know many things, which I was a good deal sur- 
prised to find had not been communicated to him by others 
in the fleet; and it would appear that he was so well satis- 
fied with my opinion of what is likely to happen, and the 
means of prevention to be taken, that he had no reserve 
with me respecting his information and ideas of what is 
likely to be don^. " ^ The manner in which Nelson was re- 
ceived is said to have excited some envy. One captain 
observed to him: ''You did just as you pleased in Lord 
Hood's time, the same in Admiral Hotham's, and now 
again with Sir John Jervis: it makes no difference to yoa 
who is Oommander-in- Chief. " A higher compliment could 
not have been paid to any Commander-in-Chief, than to 

^ Professor Laughton says that the arrival of Sir John Jervis was 
' ' the signal of a new order of things ; of a strictness of discipline 
in all departments, of an activity on service and a restless energy 
such as had never been equalled, and w^hich brought the fleet to a 
point of unparalleled efficiency." For his character, see Mahan, 
Effect of Sea Power on French Revolution, Index. It will amply 
reward inductive study. 

"" November 30, 1795. 

^January 19, 1796. 

* Do you think Nelson's literary style as good as his style of 
fighting ? 



1796] THE LIFE OF NELSON 89 

say of liim^ that he understood the merits of Nelson, and 
left him, as far as possible, to act upon his own judgment. 

Sir John Jervis offered him the St. George, ninety, or 
the Zealous, seventy-four, and asked if he should have any 
objection to serve under him with his flag.^ He replied, 
that if the Agamemnon were ordered home, and his flag 
were not arrived, he should, on many accounts, wish to re- 
turn to England : still, if the war continued, he should be 
very proud of hoisting his flag under Sir John's command. 
'' We cannot spare you," said Sir John, " either as captain 
or admiral." Accordingly, he resumed his station in the 
Gulf of Genoa. The French had not followed up their 
successes in that quarter with tlieir usual celerity. Scherer,^ 
who commanded there, owed his advancement to any other 
cause than his merit; he was a favourite of the Directory; ^ 
but, for the present, through the influence of Barras,'^ he 
was removed from a command for which his incapacity 
was afterwards clearly proved, and Buonaparte was ap- 
pointed to succeed him. Buonaparte^ had given indica- 
tions of his military talents at Toulon, and of his remorse- 
less nature at Paris: but the extent either of his ability or 
his wickedness was at this time known to none, and per- 
haps not even suspected by himself. 

Nelson supposed, from the information which he had 

^ His admirars flag. See next sentence but one. 

^ Scherer (1750-1804) was the son of a butcher. He was a failure 
both as general and statesman, but is said to have been full of patri- 
otic zeal. More fortunate than most of the other leaders of the 
French Revolution, he did not pay the penalty of losing his head for 
the crime of being eminent, but his escape was a narrow one. See 
Mahan, Influence of Sea Poiver on French Revolution, Index. 

^ The affairs of France were managed by this body, which was 
executive and consisted of five members, from July 27, 1794, until 
November 9, 1799, when it was ended by Napoleon. See Duruy, His- 
tory of France, pp. 566-578 ; Guizot, History of France, vol. vi.. 
Index. 

^ Barras (1755-1829) was the man who discovered Napoleon, and 
brought him forward, October 5, 1795, just in time to save the Di- 
rectory from the Parisian mob. His family was ancient, but he was 
a violent and bloody Jacobin. It was largely through his efforts, 
however, that Robespierre fell. He remained a member of the Di- 
rectory until its fall, and then retired to private life. See Duruy, 
History of France, pp. 558, 566, 577 ; Guizot, History of France, 
vol. vi., pp. 208, 245, 358, 402, 407. 

^ Why was he called Buonaparte and not Napoleon by Southey ? 



90 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1796 

obtained^ tliat one column of the French army would take 
possession of Port Especia; either penetrating through the 
Genoese territory ;, or proceeding coastways in light vessels; 
our ships of war not being able to approach the coast be- 
cause of the shallowness of the water. To prevent this, 
he said, two things were necessary : the possession of Yado 
Bay, and the taking of Port Especia; if either of these 
points were secured, Italy would be safe from any attack of 
the French by sea. General Beaulieu, who had now su- 
perseded De Vins in the command of the allied Austrian 
and Sardinian army, sent his nephew and aide-de-camp to 
communicate with Nelson, and inquire whether he could 
anchor in any other place than Vado Bay. Nelson replied, 
that Vado was the only place where the British fleet could 
lie in safety: but all places would suit his squadron; and 
wherever the General came down to the sea-coast, there he 
should find it. The Austrian repeatedly asked, if there 
was not a risk of losing the squadron; and was constantly 
answered, that if these ships should be lost, the Admiral 
would find others. But all j)lans of co-operation with the 
Austrians were soon frustrated by the battle of Montenotte.^ 
Beaulieu ordered an attack to be made upon the post of 
Voltri : — it was made twelve hours before the time which 
he had fixed, and before he arrived to direct it. In con- 
sequence, the French were enabled to effect their retreat, 
and fall back to Montenotte; thus giving the troops there 
a decisive superiority in number over the division which 
attacked them. This drew on the defeat of the Austrians. 
Buonaparte, with a celerity which had never before been 
witnessed in modern war, pursued his advantages, and, in 
the course of a fortnight, dictated to the court of Turin 
terms of peace, or rather of submission; by which all the 
strongest places of Piedmont were put into his hands. 

On one occasion, and only on one, Nelson was able to 
impede the progress of this new conqueror. Six vessels, 
laden with cannon and ordnance-stores for the siege of 
Mantua, sailed from Toulon for St. Pier d'Arena. As- 
sisted by Captain Oockburn, in the Meleager, he drove them 
under a battery, pursued them, silenced the batteries, and 
captured the whole. Military books, plans, and maps of 

^ April 12, 1796. See Mahan, Influence of Sea Power on French 
Revolution, vol. i., pp. 207-311. 



1796] THE LIFE OF NELSON 91 

Italy, with the different points marked upon them where 
former battles had been fought, sent by the Directory for 
Buonaparte's use, were found in the convoy.^ The loss of 
this artillery was one of the chief causes which compelled 
the French to raise the siege of Mantua: but there was too 
much treachery, and too much imbecility, both in the 
councils and armies of the allied 'powers, for Austria to 
improve this momentary success. Buonaparte perceived 
that the conquest of all Italy was within his reach : treaties, 
and the rights of neutral or friendly powers, were as little 
regarded by him as by the government for which he acted . 
In open contempt of both he entered Tuscany, and took 
possession of Leghorn. In consequence of this movement, 
Nelson blockaded that port, and landed a British force in 
the Isle of Elba, to secure Porto Ferrajo.^ Soon after- 
wards he took the island of Capraja, which had formerly 
belonged to Corsica, being less than forty miles distant 
from it: a distance, however, short as it was, which ena- 
bled the Genoese to retain it, after their infamous sale of 
Corsica to France. Genoa had now taken part with 
France: its government had long covertly assisted the 
French, and now willingly yielded to the first compulsory 
menace which required them to exclude the English from 
their ports. Capraja was seized, in consequence : but this 
act of vigour was not followed up as it ought to have been. 
England at that time depended too much upon the feeble 
governments of the Continent, and too little upon itself. 
It was determined by the British Cabinet to evacuate Cor- 
sica, as soon as Spain should form an offensive alliance 
with France. This event, which, from the moment that 
Spain had been compelled to make peace, was clearly fore- 
seen, had now taken place ;^ and orders for the evacuation 
of the island were immediately sent out. It was impolitic 
to annex this island to the British dominions; but, having 

^ The capture was effected May 30. Nelson wrote June 2 : " I 
have got the charts of Italy sent by the Directory to Bonaparte ; also 
Maillebois' Wars in Italy, Vauban's Attack and Defence of Places, and 
Prince Eugene's History ; all sent for the General. If Bonaparte is 
ignorant, the Directory, it would appear, wish to instruct him ; pray 
God he may remain ignorant." 

^ In the Captain ; the Agamemnon had been s€nt to England for 
repairs. 

' October 19, 1796. 



92 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1796 

done so, it was disgraceful thus to abandon it. The dis- 
grace would have been spared, and every advantage which 
could have been derived from the possession of the island 
secured, if the people had at first been left to form a 
government for themselves, and protected by us in the en- 
joyment of their independence. 

The Viceroy, Sir Gilbert Elliot, deeply felt the impolicy 
and ignominy of this evacuation. The fleet also was or- 
dered to leave the Mediterranean. This resolution was so 
contrary to the last instructions which had been received, 
that Nelson exclaimed: — "Do his Majesty's ministers 
know their own minds? They at home," said he, '*^do 
not know what this fleet is capable of performing — any- 
thing and everything. Much as I shall rejoice to see Eng- 
land, I lament our present orders in sackcloth and ashes, 
so dishonourable to the dignity of England, whose fleets 
are equal to meet the world in arms, and of all the 
fleets I ever saw, I never beheld one, in point of officers 
and men, equal to Sir John Jervis's, who is a Commander- 
in-Chief able to lead them to glory." Sir Gilbert Elliot 
believed that the great body of the Corsicans Avere per- 
fectly satisfied, as they had good reason to be, with the 
British government, sensible of its advantages, and at- 
tached to it. However this may have been, when they 
found that the English intended to evacuate the island, 
they naturally and necessarily sent to make their peace with 
the French. The partisans of France found none to oppose 
them. A committee of thirty took upon them the gov- 
ernment of Bastia, and sequestrated ^ all the British prop- 
erty: armed Corsicans mounted guard at every place, and 
a plan was laid for seizing the Viceroy. Nelson, who was 
appointed to superintend the evacuation, frustrated these 
projects. At a time when every one else despaired of sav- 
ing stores, cannon, ^^I'O'^isions, or property of any kind, 
and a privateer was moored across the mole-head to pre- 
vent all boats from passing, he sent word to the Commit- 
tee, that if the slightest opposition were made to the em- 
barkation and removal of British property, he would batter 
the town down. The privateer pointed her guns at the 
officer who carried this message, and muskets were levelled 
against his boats from the mole-head.- Upon this. Captain 

* Seized for the use of the state. 



1796] TEE LIFE OF NELSON 93 

Sutton^ of the Egmont, pulling out his watch, gave them 
a quarter of an hour to deliberate upon their answer. In 
five minutes after the expiration of that time, the ships, he 
said, would open their fire. Upon this the very sentinels 
scampered off, and every vessel came out of the mole. A 
shipowner complained to the Commodore, that the muni- 
cipality refused to let him take his goods out of the custom- 
house. Nelson directed him to say, that unless they were 
instantly delivered, he would open his fire. The Commit- 
tee turned pale; and, without answering a word, gave him 
the keys. Their last attempt was to levy a duty upon the 
things that were re-embarked. He sent them word, that 
he would pay them a disagreeable visit, if there were any 
more complaints. The Committee then finding that they 
had to deal with a man who knew his own power, and was 
determined to make the British name respected, desisted 
from the insolent conduct which they had assumed; and it 
was acknowledged, that Bastia had never been so quiet and 
orderly since the English were in possession of it. This 
was on the 14th of October: during the five following days 
the work of embarkation was carried on, the private prop- 
erty was saved, and public stores to the amount of £200,- 
000. The French, favoured by the Spanish fleet, which 
was at that time within twelve leagues of Bastia, pushed 
over troops from Leghorn, who landed near Cape Corse on 
the 18th, and on the 20th, at one in the morning, entered 
the citadel, an hour only after the British had spiked the 
guns, and evacuated it. Nelson embarked at daybreak, 
being the last person who left the shore ; having thus, as he 
said, seen the first and the last of Corsica. Provoked at 
the conduct of the municipality, and the disposition which 
the populace had shown to profit by the confusion, he 
turned towards the shore, as he stepped into his boat, and 
exclaimed: ''Now, John Corse, follow the natural bent of 
your detestable character — plunder and revenge." This, 
however, was not Nelson's deliberate opinion of the people 
of Corsica; he knew that their vices were the natural con- 
sequences of internal anarchy and foreign oppression, such 
as the same causes would produce in any people : and when 
he saw, that of all those who took leave of the Viceroy, 
there was not one who parted from him without tears, 
he acknowledged that they manifestly acted, not from 



94 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1796 

dislike of the English, but from fear of the French. 
England then might, with more reason, reproach her 
own rulers for pusillanimity, than the Oorsicans for in- 
gratitude. 

Having thus ably effected this humiliating service, Nel- 
son was ordered to hoist his broad pendant on board the 
Minerve frigate. Captain George Cockburn, and, with the 
Blanche under his command, proceed to Porto Ferrajo, 
and superintend the evacuation of that place also. On his 
way, he fell in with two Spanish frigates, the Sahina and 
the Ceres. The Minerve engaged the former, which was 
commanded by Don Jacobo Stuart, a descendant of the 
Dake of Berwick.^ After an action of three hours, during 
which the Spaniards lost 164 men, the SaMna struck. 
The Spanish Captain, who was the only surviving officer, 
had hardly been conveyed on board the Minerve, when 
another enemy's frigate came up, compelled her to cast olf 
the prize, and brought her a second time to action. After 
half an hour's trial of strength, this new antagonist wore^ 
and hauled off:^ but a Si^anish squadron of two ships of 
the line and two frigates came in sight. The Blanche, 
from which the Ceres had got off, was far to windward, 
and the Minerve escaped only by the anxiety of the enemy 
to recover their own ship. As soon as ISTelson reached 
Porto Ferrajo, he sent his prisoner in a flag of truce to 
Carthagena, having returned him his sword; this he did in 
honour of the gallantry which Don Jacobo had displayed, 
and not Avithout some feeling of respect for his ancestry. 
"I felt it," said he, "consonant to the dignity of my 
country, and I always act as I feel right, without regard 
to custom: he was reputed the best officer in Spain, and 
his men were worthy of such a commander." By the 
same flag of truce he sent back all the Spanish prisoners at 
Porto Ferrajo, in exchange for whom he received his own 
men who had been taken in the prize. 

General de Burgh, who commanded at the Isle of Elba, 
did not think himself authorised to abandon the place, till 

^ The Duke of Berwick was an illegitimate son of James II. of 
England. When Nelson demanded the surrender of Don Jacobo a 
and threatened to fire into his ship, he replied : " This is a Spanish j 
frigate and you may begin as soon as you please." \J 

"^ Turned. 

^ Made ofE. 



1796] THE LIFE OF NELSON 95 

he had received specific instructions from England to that 
effect; professing that he was unable to decide between the 
contradictory orders of Government, or to guess at what 
their present intentions might be; but he said, his only 
motive for urging delay in this measure arose from a desire 
that his own conduct might be properly sanctioned, not 
from any opinion that Porto Ferrajo ought to be retained. 
But Naples having made peace. Sir John Jervis considered 
his business with Italy as concluded; and the protection 
of Portugal was the point to Avhich he was now instructed 
to attend. ISTelson, therefore, whose orders were perfectly 
clear and explicit, withdrew the whole naval establishment 
from that station, leaving the transports victualled, and so 
arranged, that all the troops and stores could be embarked 
in three days. He was now about to leave the Mediterra- 
nean. Mr. Drake, who had been our minister at Genoa, 
expressed to him, on this occasion, the very high opinion 
which the allies entertained of his conspicuous merit; add- 
ing, that it was impossible for any one, who had the hon- 
our of co-operating with him, not to admire the activity, 
talents, and zeal, which he had so eminently and constantly 
displayed. In fact, during this long course of services in 
the Mediterranean, the whole of his conduct had exhibited 
the same zeal, the same indefatigable energy, the same in- 
tuitive judgment, the same prompt and unerring decision, 
which characterised his after-career of glory. His name 
was as yet hardly known to the English public, but it was 
feared and respected thoughout Italy. A letter came to 
him, directed, " Horatio J^elson, Genoa: " and the writer, 
when he was asked how he could direct it so vaguely, re- 
plied, ^\ Sir, there is but one Horatio Nelson in the 
world. ""^ At Genoa, in particular, where he had so long 
been stationed, and where the nature of his duty first led 
him to continual disputes with the government, and after- 
wards compelled him to stop the trade of the port, he was 
equally respected by the Doge and by the people: for, while 
he maintained the rights and interests of Great Britain 
with becoming firmness, he tempered the exercise of power 
with courtesy and humanity, wherever duty Avould permit. 
" Had all my actions," said he, writing at this time to his 
wife, ' ' been gazetted, not one fortnight would have passed, 
during the whole war, without a letter from me. One day 



96 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1797 

or other I will liave a long ' Gazette ' to myself. I feel that 
such an opportunity will be given me. I cannot, if I am 
in the field of glory, be ke23t out of sight: wherever there 
is anything to be done, there Providence is sure to direct 
my steps." 

These hopes and anticipations were soon to be fulfilled. 
Nelson's mind had long been irritated and depressed by 
the fear that a general action would take place before he 
could join the fleet. At length he sailed from Porto Fer- 
rajo with a convoy for Gibraltar; and having reached that 
place, proceeded to the westward in search of the Admiral. 
Off the mouth of the Straits he fell in with the Spanish 
fleet; ^ and, on the 13th of February, reaching the station 
off Cape St. Vincent, communicated this intelligence to 
Sir John Jervis. He was now directed to shift his broad 
pendant on board the Captain, seventy-four. Captain E. 
W. Miller ; and, before sunset, the signal was made to pre- 
pare for action, and to keep, during the night, in close 
order. At daybreak the enemy were in sight. The British 
force consisted of two ships of one hundred guns, two of 
ninety-eight, two of ninety, eight of seventy-four, and one of 
sixty-four guns: fifteen of the line in all; with four frigates, 
a sloop, and a cutter. The Spaniards had one four decker, 
of one hundred and thirty-six guns, six three deckers of one 
hundred and twelve, two eighty-fours, eighteen seventy- 
fours : in all, twenty-seven ships of the line, with ten f rig- 

^On this occasion he narrowly escaped capture. The Spaniards 
were pursuing the Ilinerve hotly when she lost a man overboard. 
Lieutenant Hardy was at once lowered in the jolly-boat, but it was 
too late ; the man had sunk. The boat, however, immediately 
drifted far astern of the llinerve, a strong current made return seem 
impossible, and the Spaniards were rapidly approaching. Nelson, 
determined, cost what it might, not to abandon his friend, cried : 
"By God, I'll not lose Hardy. Back the mizzen top-sail !" The 
enemy could only interpret this proceeding as a sign that Nelson had 
sighted the English fleet ; and desisted from further pursuit. " The 
night following that day was thick," says Clark Russell. "Col. 
Bethune, who shared the cabin with Sir Gilbert [Elliot], was lying 
awake in his cot, when by the light burning in the fore-cabin he 
observed a figure standing in the doorway. It was Nelson. On 
learning that Sir Gilbert was asleep he softly stole to the colonel's 
side and whispered that ' he believed the Minerve was at that very 
moment in the midst of the Spanish fleet. He was sure by the sig- 
nals of the phantom craft, looming large in the thickness, that they 
were not Jervis's ships.' " 



1797] THE LIFE OF NELSON 97 

ates and a brig.^ Their Admiral, Don Josef de Cordova, 
had learnt from an American, on the 5th, that the English 
had only nine ships, which was indeed the case when his 
informer had seen them; for a reinforcement of five ships 
from England, under Admiral Parker, had not then 
joined, and the Culloden had parted company. Upon this 
information, the Spanish Commander, instead of going into 
Cadiz, as was his intention when he sailed from Cartha- 
gena, determined to seek an enemy so inferior in force; and 
relying, with fatal confidence, upon the American account, 
he suffered his ships to remain too far dispersed, and in 
some disorder. When the morning of the 14th broke, and 
discovered the English fleet, a fog for some time concealed 
their number. The look-out ship of the Spaniards, fancy- 
ing that her signal was disregarded, because so little notice 
seemed to be taken of it, made another signal, that the 
English force consisted of forty sail of the line. The Cap- 
tain afterwards said he did this to rouse the Admiral : it 
had the effect of perplexing him, and alarming the whole 
fleet. The absurdity of such an act shows what was the 
state of the Spanish navy under that miserable govern- 
ment, by which Spain was so long oppressed and degraded, 
and finally betrayed. In reality, the general incapacity of 
the naval officers was so well known, that in a pasquinade,^ 
which about this time appeared at Madrid, wherein the dif- 
ferent orders of the state were advertised for sale, the greater 
part of the sea-officers, with all their equipments, were of- 
fered as a gift ; and it was added, that any person who would 
please to take them, should receive a handsome gratuity.^ 

^ This disparity in numbers terrified some hearts on board the 
British fleet, but not the iron heart of its commander. The enemy's^ 
strength, as it became apparent, was reported to him by signal. 
"There are 18 sail-of-the-line, Sir John." "Very well, sir." 
"There are 20 sail-of-the-line, Sir John." " Very well, sir." " There 
are 25 sail-of-the-line." "Very well, sir." "There are 27 sail. Sir 
John. The odds are too great." "Enough, sir, no more of that. 
If there were 50 sail I would go through them." At this sturdy re- 
joinder, Capt. Hallowell, who stood at the Admiral's side, was so 
delighted that he clapped the grand old man on the back, and ex- 
claimed : " That's right, Sir John, that's right ; by G , we shall 

give them a d — d good licking ! " — Edi7iburgli Review, 1844, p. 424. 
^ See Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, under "Pasquin." 
^ Only sixty or seventy seamen are said to have been in each ship ; 
the rest were impressed peasants and seasick landsmen. 
7 



98 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1797 

Wlien tlie probability that Spain would take part in the 
war, as an ally of France, was first contemplated, Nelson 
said that their fleet, if it were no better than when it 
acted in alliance with us, would " soon be done for." 

Before the enemy could form a regular order of battle. 
Sir John Jervis, by carrying a press of sail, came up with 
them, passed through their fleet, then tacked, and thus cut 
off nine of their ships from the main body.^ These ships 
attempted to form on the larboard tack,^ either with a de- 
sign of passing through the British line, or to the leeward 
of it, aud thus rejoining their friends.^ Only one of them 
succeeded in this attempt; and that only because she was 
so covered with smoke that her intention was not discovered 
till she had reached the rear : the others were so warmly re- 
ceived, that they put about, took to flight, and did not 
appear again in the action till its close. The Admiral was 
now able to direct his attention to the enemy's main body, 
which was still superior in number to his whole fleet, and 
more so in weight of metal. . He made signal to tack in 
succession.^ Nelson, whose station was in the rear of the 
British line, perceived that the Spaniards were bearing up 
before the wind, with an intention of forming their line, 
going large, and joining their separated ships; or else, of 
getting off without an engagement. To prevent either of 
these schemes, he disobeyed the signal without a moment's 
hesitation, and ordered his ship to be wore. This at once 
brought him into action with the Santissima Trinidad, 

^ Sir John in so doing was keeping in mind the first principle of 
warfare, whether on land or on sea, — never to be content to meet an 
enemy with an equal force, if by any effort or foresight he can be 
met with a superior one. 

^ With the wind on their larboard. 

^ This paragraph is one that requires concentrated study. Some 
student should take it as a topic, work out the movements, make 
plans, write a detailed explanation, and discourse to the class. See 
Mahan, Influence of Sea Poiver on French Revolution, vol. i., p. 223 ; 
and the Century Magazine for February, 1896, p. 604. 

^ " There are many who think that what Jervis should have sig- 
nalled in the circumstances was to tack all together, that is, each 
ship where she actually was when the signal was made; and had 
this been done, there can be little doubt that the battle would 
have been much sharper and more decisive than it was. That it 
was so in any degree was due not to Jervis but to Nelson." — J. K. 
Laughton, Nelson, English Men of Action Series, p. 86. 



1797] THE LIFE OF NELSON 99 

one hundred and tliirty-six^ the San Josef, one hundred 
and twelve, the Salvador' del Mundo, one hundred and 
twelve, the San Nicolas, eighty, the San Isidro, seventy- 
four, another seventy-four, and another first-rate. Trou- 
bridge, in the Culloden, immediately joined, and most nobly 
supported him; and for nearly an hour did the Culloden 
and Caiotain maintain what Nelson called "this appar- 
ently, but not really, unequal contest; " — such was the 
advantage of skill and discipline, and the confidence which 
brave men derive from them. The Blenlieim then passing 
between them and the enemy, gave them a respite, and 
poured in her fire upon the Spaniards. The Salvador del 
Mundo and San Isidro dropjoed a-stern, and were fired 
into, in a masterly style, by the Excellent, Captain Colling- 
wood. Th.Q Sail Isidro struck; and Nelson thought that 
the Salvador struck also. "But Collingwood," says he, 
"disdaining the parade of taking possession of beaten 
enemies, most gallantly pushed up, with every sail set, to 
save his old friend and messmate, who was, to appearance, 
in a critical situation; " for the Captain was at this time 
actually fired upon by three first-rates, by the San Nico- 
las, and by a seventy-four, within about pistol-shot of 
that vessel. The Blenlieim was ahead, the Culloden crip- 
pled and a-stern. Collingwood ranged up, and hauling up 
his mainsaiP just a-stern, passed within ten feet of the 
San Nicolas, giving her a most tremendous fire, then 
passed on for the Santissima Trinidad. The San Nico- 
las luffing up, the San Josef fell on board ^ her, and Nelson 
resumed his station abreast of them, and close alongside. 
The Captain was now incapable of farther service, either 
in the line or in chase: she had lost her foretop-mast; 
not a sail, shroud, or rope, was left, and her wheel was shot 
away. Nelson, therefore, directed Captain Miller to put 
the helm a-starboard, and, calling for tho boarders, ordered 
them to board. 

Captain Berry, who had lately been Nelson's First Lieu- 
tenant, was the first man who leaped into the enemy's 
mizen-chains. Miller, when in the very act of going, was 

^ Thus steadying the ship by lessening the surface exposed to the 
wind. 

^ To " luff " is to keep close to the wind. To " fall on board " is to 
range close alongside. 




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1797] THE LIFE OF NELSON 101 

ordered by Nelson to remain. ^ Berry was supported from 
the spritsail-yard, wliicli locked in the San Nicolas' s main 
rigging. A soldier of the 69th broke the upper quarter- 
gallery window, and jumped in, followed by the Commo- 
dore himself, and by others as fast as possible. The cabin 
doors were fastened, and the Spanish officers fired their 
pistols at them through the window : the doors were soon 
forced, and the Spanish Brigadier fell while retreating to 
the quarter-deck. Nelson pushed on, and found Berry in 
possession of the poop, and the Spanish ensign hauling 
down. He passed on to the forecastle, where he met two 
or three Spanish officers, and received their swords. The 
English were now in full possession of every part of the 
ship; and a fire of pistols and musketry opened upon them 
from the Admiral's stern gallery of the San Josef. Nelson 
having placed the sentinels at different ladders, and ordered 
Captain Miller to send more men into the prize, gave or- 
ders for boarding that ship from the Sa7i Nicolas.'^ It 
was done in an instant, he himself leading the way, and 
exclaiming — "Westminster Abbey, or victory!" Berry 
assisted him into the main-chains; and at that moment a 
Spanish officer looked over the quarter-deck rail, and said 
they surrendered. It was not long before he was on the 
quarter-deck, where the Spanish Captain presented to him 
his sword, and told him the Admiral was below, dying of 
his wounds. There, on the quarter-deck of an enemy's 
first-rate, he received the swords of the officers; giving 
them, as they were delivered, one by one, to William Fear- 

^ The following interesting anecdote has been obligingly communi- 
cated by Captain Miller's sister, Mrs. Dairy mple : — " While Captain 
Miller was leading his men to the San Nicolas, Commodore Nelson 
said, ' No, Miller ; I must have that honour ; ' and on going into the 
cabin, after the contest, Nelson said : ' Miller, I am under the great- 
est obligations to you,' and presented him with the Spanish captain's 
sword ; and then, as if he could not sufficiently show his sense of his 
captain's services, he again expressed his obligations, and drawing a 
ring from his finger, placed it on Captain Miller's. The ring, rather 
a large topaz, set round with diamonds, and the Spanish officer's 
sword, are now in the possession of Miss Miller, Captain Miller's 
only surviving child." — Nelson's Despatches. 

^ " There is a saying in the fleet too flattering for me to omit tell- 
ing, viz., Nelson's Patent Bridge for boarding First-Rates ; alluding 
to my passing over an enemy's 80-gun ship." — Note to Nelson's 
Autograph Account of the Battle. 



102 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1797 

ney, one of liis old " Agamemnons/' wlio^ with the utmost 
coolness, put them under his arm; "bundling them up," 
in the lively expression of CoUingwood, "with as much 
composure as he would have made a faggot, though twenty- 
two sail of their line were within gunshot." One of his 
sailors came up, and, with an Englishman's feeling, took 
him by the hand, saying, he might not soon have such 
another place to do it in, and he was heartily glad to see 
him there. Twenty-fouT ^ of the Caf taints men were killed, 
and fifty-six wounded; a fourth part of the loss sustained 
by the whole squadron falling upon this ship. Nelson 
received only a few bruises.^ 

The Spaniards still had eighteen or nineteen ships, which 
had suffered little or no injury : that part of the fleet which 
had been separated from the main body in the morning was 
now coming up, and Sir John Jervis made signal to bring to. 
His ships could not have formed without abandoning those 
which they had captured, and running to leeward : the Ca]^- 
tain was lying a perfect wreck on board ^ her tAvo prizes; 
and many of the other vessels were so shattered in their 
masts and rigging as to be wholly unmanageable.^ The 

^ The casualties in the Blenlieim were 12 killed and 49 wounded 
(for a time she had five ships on her at once) ; in the Culloden, ten 
killed and 47 wounded. The Colossus also suffered. The total Bri- 
tish loss in killed and wounded was about 400. The Spanish casual- 
ties in the captured ships were : Salvador del Ifimdo, 42 killed and 
124 wounded ; San Josef, 46 and 96 ; Sa7i Nicolas, 144 and 59 ; 
San Isidro, 29 and 63. 

^ " Even now, misled by exaggerated descriptions and imaginative 
pictures, it is very commonly supposed that he captured the two 
Spaniards in a desperate hand-to-hand conflict amid the clash of 
cutlasses and dint of tomahawks : people do not stop now, any more 
than they did then, to reflect that what Nelson did was, with great 
resolution and vigour,but without any serious fighting, to take forci- 
ble possession of two beaten ships, which but for his prompt action 
would very probably have gotten away, as the Santissima 'Trinidad 
and other beaten ships actually did." — Laughton, Nelsoti, p. 89. 

^ Alongside. 

^ About fifty years since the Captain lay as a hulk in Hamoaze, 
with the San Josef alongside fitting for sea. In the dead of the 
night the inhabitants of Plymouth Dock were alarmed by a violent 
cannonade, and the ringing of the Dockyard bell. It was then dis- 
covered tliat the Captai7i had caught fire (through the drunkenness 
of a petty officer), and was now enveloped in one mass of flame, 
illuminating the coasts of Devon and Cornwall for miles on either 
side. For her own safety, as well as that of the ships in the harbour, 



1797] THE LIFE OF NELSON 103 

Spanish Admiral, meantime, according to his official ac- 
count, being altogether undecided in his own oioinion respect- 
ing the state of the fleet, inquired of his captains whether it 
was proper to renew the action: nine of them answered 
explicitly, that it was not; others replied that it was expe- 
dient to delay the business. ^ The Pelayo and the Principe 
Conquistador were the only ships that were for fighting.^ 

As soon as the action was discontinued, l^elson went on 
board the Admiral's ship. Sir John Jervis received him on 
the quarter-deck, took him in his arms, and said he could 
not sufficiently thank him. For this victory the Com- 
mander-in-Chief was rewarded with the title of Earl St. 
Vincent.* Nelson, who, before the action was known in 

the 8an Josef fired into her, and ultimately sunk her : thus accom- 
phshing in Plymouth Harbour what she was unable to do at Cape St. 
Vincent. — Quoted from Bohn's Edition of 1891. 

^ Many of the Spaniards were so crippled that, if Sir John Jervis 
had pursued, he might have taken more. The huge Sa7itissi7na 
Trinidad had struck, but was saved by some of the Spanish van 
coming to her help. Cordova and his Captains were all punished 
by their Government. — Bohn's Edition. 

^ Southey's account of the battle is founded on the " Narrative " 
of Colonel Drinkwater, who was secretary to the Viceroy of Corsica, 
and had come from that island with Nelson in the Minerve. 

* In the official letter of Sir John Jervis, Nelson was not men- 
tioned. It is said, that the Admiral had seen an instance of the ill 
consequences of such selections, after Lord Howe's victory ; and, 
therefore, would not name any individual, thinking it proper to speak 
to the public only in terms of general approbation. His private letter 
to the First Lord of the Admiralty was, with his consent, published, 
for the first time, in a Life of Nelson, by Mr. Harrison. Here it is 
said, that "Commodore Nelson, who was in the rear, on the star- 
board tack, took the lead on the larboard, and contributed very much 
to the fortune of the day." It is also said, that he boarded the two 
Spanish ships successively ; but the fact, that Nelson wore without 
orders, and thus planned as well as accomplished the victory, is not 
explicitly stated. Perhaps it was thought proper to pass over this 
part of his conduct in silence, as a splendid fault : but such an ex- 
ample is not dangerous. The author of the work in which this letter 
was first made public protests against those over-zealous friends, 
" who would make the action rather appear as Nelson's battle, than 
that of the illustrious Commander-in-Chief, who derives from it so 
deservedly his title. No man," he says, "ever less needed, or less 
desired, to strip a single leaf from the honoured wreath of any other 
hero, with the vain hope of augmenting his own, than the immortal 
Nelson : no man ever more merited the whole of that which a gen- 
erous nation unanimously presented to Sir J. Jervis, than the Earl 
of St. Vincent." Certainly Earl St. Vincent well deserved the re- 



104 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1797 

England, had been advanced to the rank of Eear-Admiral,^ 
had the Order of the Bath ^ given him. The sword of the 
Spanish Rear- Admiral, which Sir John Jervis insisted upon 
his keeping, he presented to the mayor and corporation of 
Norwich, saying that he knew no place where it could 
give him or his family more pleasure to have it kept, than 
in the capital city of the county where he was born. The 
freedom of that city was voted him on this occasion. But 
of all the numerous congratulations which he received, 
none could have affected him with deeper delight than 
that which came from his venerable father. " I thank my 
God," said this excellent man, "with all the power of a 
grateful soul, for the mercies He has most graciously be- 

ward which he received ; but it is not detracting from his merit to 
say, that Nelson is as fully entitled to as much fame from this action 
as the Commander-in-Chief ; not because the brunt of the action fell 
upon him ; not because he was engaged with all the four ships which 
were taken, and took two of them, it may almost be said, with his own 
hand ; but because the decisive movement which enabled him toper- 
form all this, and by which the action became a victory, was exe- 
cuted in neglect of orders, upon his own judgment, and at his peril. 
Earl St. Vincent deserved his earldofn : but it is not to the honour 
of those by whom titles were distributed in those days, that Nelson 
never obtained the rank of earl for either of those victories which he 
lived to enjoy, though the one was the most complete aud glorious in 
the annals of naval history, and the other the most important in its 
consequences of any which was achieved during the whole war. — 
Southey''s Note. 

" In the evening, while talking over the events of the day, Cap- 
tain Calder hinted that the spontaneous manoeuvre which carried 
those duo fulmina delli, Nelson and Collingwood, into the brunt of 
the battle, was an unauthorized departure by the Commodore from 
the prescribed mode of attack. 'It certainly was so,' replied Sir 
John Jervis, ' and if ever you commit such a breach of your orders, 
I will forgive you also.' " — Tucker, 3Iemoirs of Earl of St. Vincent. 

^ Admirals are of three ranks, and are distinguished as admirals, 
vice-admirals, and rear-admirals. The rear-admiral carried his flag 
on the mizen-mast, the vice-admiral on the fore-mast, and the ad- 
miral on the main-mast. "As, however, the admiral commanding 
in the centre was ... in command of . . . the whole fleet, 
he flew, instead of the red flag, the Union at the main, and thus it 
happened that there was no Admiral of the Eed. The second in 
command flew a blue flag at the main and the Union at the fore ; the 
third, a white flag at the main and the Union at the mizen." — Com- 
mander Robinson, Tlie British Fleet, p. 92. 

2 Assign to some member of the class the task of studying, writing 
up, and reporting on the British orders. Webster's Dictionary 
will furnish most of the facts needed. 



1797] TEE LIFE OF NELSON 105 

stowed on me in preserving yon. Not only my few ac- 
qnaintances here^ but the people in general, met me at 
every corner with such handsome words^, that I was obliged 
to retire from the public eye. The height of glory to 
which your professional judgment, united with a proper 
degree of bravery, guarded by Providence, has raised you, 
few sons, my dear child, attain to, and fewer fathers live 
to see. Tears of joy have involuntarily trickled down my 
furrowed cheeks. Who could stand the force of such gen- 
eral congratulation ? The name and services of Nelson 
have sounded throughout this city of Bath — from the 
common ballad-singer to the public theatre." The good 
old man concluded by telling him, that the field of glory, 
in which he had so long been conspicuous, was still open, 
and by giving him his blessing. 

Sir Horatio, who had now hoisted his flag as Rear- Admi- 
ral of the Blue, was sent to bring away the troops from 
Porto Ferrajo: having performed this, he shifted his flag 
to the Theseus. That ship had taken part in the Mutiny 
in England, and being just arrived from home, some dan- 
ger was apprehended from the temper of the men.^ This 
was one reason why Nelson was removed to her. He had 
not been on board many weeks before a paper, signed in 
the name of all the ship's company, was dropped on the 
quarter-deck, containing these words: "_Success attend 
Admiral Nelson! God bless Caj^tain Miller! We thank 

^Nelson himself had very popular manners, but the "iron grip 
under the velvet glove " was always present when he was in com- 
mand. It happened that on July 8 of this year two men of the St. 
George were sentenced to be hanged for mutiny. For the sake of 
celerity the execution took place on Sunday, Lord St. Vincent in 
consequence being censured in strong language by Admiral Thomp- 
son. Nelson, on the other hand, wrote to him in warm commenda- 
tion of the act. Indeed, he declared that he would have executed 
them, had' it been Christmas day instead of Sunday. Another mu- 
tiny, known as the "breeze at Spithead," also occurred this year, 
and resulted in large concessions being made to the sailors. The 
pay, which had remained stationary since the days of Charles I., 
was increased ; wounded men were given full wages until they re- 
covered, or, being reported incurable, were admitted to Greenwich 
Hospital ; the quality of provisions was improved ; better medicines 
were provided ; and a more liberal system of " leaves " was intro- 
duced. For some further anecdotes of St. Vincent's method of deal- 
ing with refractory crews, see Mahan, Influence of Sea Foiver on 
French Revolution, i., 236. 



106 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1797 

them for the officers they have placed over us. We are 
happy and comfortable ; and will shed every drop of blood 
in our veins to support them; — and the name of the 
Theseus shall be immortalised as high as the Captain's,''^ 
Wherever Nelson commanded, the men soon became at- 
tached to him; — in ten days' time he would have restored 
the most mutinous ship in the Navy to order. Whenever 
an officer fails to win the affections of those who are under 
his command, he may be assured that the fault is chiefly in 
himself. 

While Sir Horatio was in the Theseus, he was employed 
in the command of the inner squadron at the blockade of 
Cadiz. During this service, the most perilous action oc- 
curred in which he was ever engaged. Making a night at- 
tack upon the Spanish gun-boats, his barge was attacked by 
an armed launch, under their commander, Don Miguel 
Tregoyen, carrying twenty-six men. Nelson had with him 
only his ten bargemen. Captain Fremantle, and his cox- 
swain, John Sykes,^ an old and faithful follower, who twice 
saved the life of his Admiral, by parrying the blows that 
were aimed at him, and, at last, actually interposed his 
own head to receive the blow of a Spanish sabre, which he 
could not by any other means avert; — thus dearly was Nel- 
son beloved. This was a desperate service — hand to hand 
with swords : and Nelson always considered that his per- 
sonal courage was more conspicuous on this occasion than 
on any other during his whole life. Notwithstanding the 
great disproportion of numbers, eighteen of the enemy 
were killed, all the rest wounded, and their launch taken. ^ 
Nelson would have asked for a lieutenancy for Sykes, if he 
had served long enough: his manner and conduct, he ob- 
served, were so entirely above his situation, that Nature 
certainly intended him for a gentleman : ^ but though he 
recovered from the dangerous wound which he received in 
this act of heroic attachment, he did not live to profit by 
the gratitude and friendship of his commander. 

^ This gallant fellow was a native of Lincoln, and was frequently 
complimented by the admiral, who called him his "brave Lincoln 
friend." He w^as soon after killed by the bursting of a cannon. — Bohn. 

^ The pupil may secure an excellent exercise in composition by 
attempting to expand the event here mentioned into a chapter of a 
novel in the manner of Walter Scott. 

^ Subject for paragraph- writing : What is a gentleman ? 



1797] THE LIFE OF NELSON 107 

Twelve days after this rencontre, Nelson sailed at the 
head of an expedition against Teneriffe. A report had 
prevailed a few months before, that the Viceroy of Mexico, 
with the treasure-ships, had put into that island. This 
had led Nelson to meditate the plan of an attack upon it, 
which he communicated to Earl St. Vincent. He was 
perfectly aware of the difficulties of the attempt. " I do 
not, " said he, '^ reckon myself equal to Blake : ^ but, if I rec- 
ollect right, he was more obliged to the wind coming off 
the land than to any exertions of his own. The approach 
by sea to the anchoring place is under very high land, 
passing three valleys; therefore the wind is either in from 
the sea, or squally with calms from the mountains: " and 
he perceived, that if the Spanish ships were won the object 
would still be frustrated, if the wind did not come off 
shore. The land force, he thought, would render success 
certain; and there were the troops from Elba, with all ne- 
cessary stores and artillery, already embarked. ''But 
here," said he, "soldiers must be consulted; and I know, 
from experience, they have not the same boldness in un- 
dertaking a political measure that we have : we look to the 
benefit of our country, and risk our own fame every day to 
serve her; — a soldier obeys his orders, and no more." Nel- 
son's experience at Corsica justified him in his harsh opin- 
ion; — he did not live to see the glorious days of the British 
army under Wellington. The army from Elba, consisting 
of 3,700 men, would do the business, he said, in three 
days, probably in much less time ; and he would undertake, 
with a very small squadron, to perform the naval part; for 
though the shore was not easy of access, the transports 
might run in and land the troops in one day. 

The report concerning the Viceroy was unfounded; but 
a homeward-bound Manilla ship put into Santa Cruz at 
this time, and the expedition was determined upon. It was 
not fitted out upon the scale which Nelson had proposed. 
Eour ships of the line, three frigates, and the Fox cutter, 

^ " In April, 1657, Admiral Blake having received information that 
six Spanish galleons laden with silver and ten other ships had put 
into Santa Cruz at Teneriffe, immediately resolved to attempt de- 
stroying them. He succeeded in the attack, and burnt the whole 
Spanish fleet down to the water's edge, except two ships which sank ; 
and then the wind veering to the southwest, he passed with the fleet 
safe out of port again." — Campbell, Lives of the British Admirals. 



108 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1797 

formed the squadron; and lie was allowed to choose such 
ships and officers as he thought proper. No troops were 
embarked: the seamen and the marines of the squadron 
being thought sufficient. His orders were^ to make a 
vigorous attack; but on no account to land in person^ un- 
less his presence should be absolutely necessary. The plan 
was, that the boats should land in the night between the 
fort on the I^.E. side of Santa Cruz bay and the town, 
make themselves masters of that fort, and then send a 
summons to the governor. By midnight, the three frig- 
ates, having the force on board which was intended for this 
debarkation, approached within three miles of the place; 
but owing to a strong gale of wind in the offing, and a 
strong current against them inshore, they were not able to 
get within a mile of the landing place before daybreak ; 
and then they were seen, and their intention discovered. 
Troubridge and Bowen, with Captain Oldfield, of the ma- 
rines, went upon this to consult with the Admiral what was 
to be done; and it was resolved that they should attempt 
to get possession of the heights above the fort. The 
frigates accordingly landed their men; and Nelson stood in 
with the line-of- battle ships, meaning to batter the fort, 
for the purpose of distracting the attention of the garri- 
son. A calm and contrary current hindered him from get- 
ting within a league of the shore; and the heights were by 
this time so secured, and manned with such a force as to 
be judged impracticable. Thus foiled in his plans by cir- 
cumstances of wind and tide, he still considered it a point 
of honour that some attempt should be made. This was 
on the 22d of July: he re-embarked his men that night, 
got the ships, on the 24th, to anchor about two miles north 
of the town, and made show as if he intended to attack 
the heights. At six in the evening, signal was made for 
the boats to prepare to proceed on the service, as previously 
ordered. 

When this was done, Nelson addressed a letter to the 
Commander-in-Chief — the last which was ever written with 
his right hand. "I shall not," said he, "enter on the 
subject, why we are not in possession of Santa Cruz. Your 
partiality will give credit, that all has hitherto been done 
which was possible, but without effect. This night I, 
humble as I am, command the whole, destined to land under 



1797] THE LIFE OF NELSON 109 

the batteries of the town: and, to-morrow, my head will 
probably be crowned either with laurel or cypress. I have 
only to recommend Josiah ISTisbet to yon and my country. 
The Duke of Clarence^ should I fall, will, I am confident, 
take a lively interest for my son-in-law, on his name being 
mentioned." Perfectly aware how desperate a service this 
was likely to prove, before he left the Theseus, he called 
Lieutenant ISTisbet, who had the watch on deck, into the 
cabin, that he might assist in arranging and burning his 
mother's letters. Perceiving that the young man was 
armed, he earnestly begged him to remain behind. " Should 
we both fall, Josiah," said he, "what would become of 
your poor mother ! The care of the Theseus falls to you : 
stay, therefore, and take charge of her." Msbet replied: 
"Sir, the ship must take care of herself; I will go with 
you to-night, if I never go again." 

He met his captains at supper on board the Seahorse, 
Captain Fremantle, whose wife, whom he had lately mar- 
ried in the Mediterranean, presided at table. At eleven 
o'clock, the boats, containing between 600 and 700 men, 
with 180 on board the Fox cutter, and from 70 to 80 in a 
boat which had been taken the day before, proceeded in 
six divisions toward the town, conducted by all the cap- 
tains of the squadron, except Fremantle and Bowen, who 
attended with Nelson to regulate and lead the way to the 
attack. They were to land on the mole, and thence has- 
ten, as fast as possible, into the great square; then form, 
and proceed as should be found expedient. They were 
not discovered till about half -past one o'clock, when, be- 
ing within half gun-shot of the landing place, Nelson 
directed the boats to cast off from each other, give a huzza 
and push for the shore. But the Spaniards were excel- 
lently well prepared : the alarm-bells answered the huzza, 
and a fire of thirty or forty pieces of cannon, with mus- 
quetry from one end of the town to the other, opened 
upon the invaders. Nothing, however, could check the 
intrepidity with which they advanced. The night was ex- 
ceedingly dark; most of the boats missed the mole, and 
went on shore through a raging surf, which stove all to 
the left of it. The Admiral, Fremantle, Thompson, 
Bowen, and four or five other boats, found the mole : they 
stormed it instantly, and carried it, though it was defended, 



110 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1797 

as they imagined^ by four or five liundred men. Its guns^ 
which were six-and-twenty pounders, were spiked; but 
such a heavy fire of musquetry and grape was kept up 
from the Citadel, and the houses at the head of the mole, 
that the assailants could not advance, and nearly all of 
them were killed or wounded. 

In the act of stepping out of the boat, N'elson received 
a shot through the right elbow, and fell ; but, as he fell, he 
caught the sword, which he had just drawn, in his left 
hand, determined never to part with it while he lived, for 
it had belonged to his uncle. Captain Suckling, and he 
valued it like a relic. Nisbet, who was close to him, 
placed him at tlie bottom of the boat, and laid his hat over 
the shattered arm, lest the sight of the blood, which gushed 
out in great abundance, should increase his faintness. He 
then examined the wound; and taking some silk handker- 
chiefs from his neck, bound them round tight above the 
lacerated vessels. Had it not been for this presence of mind 
in his son-in-law, Nelson must have perished. One of his 
barge-men, by name Lovel, tore his shirt into shreds, and 
made a sling with them for the broken limb. They then 
collected, five other seamen, by whose assistance they suc- 
ceeded, at length, in getting the boat afloat; for it had 
grounded with the falling tide. Nisbet took one of the 
oars, and ordered the steersman to go close under the guns 
of the battery, that they might be safe from its tremendous 
fire. Hearing his voice, Nelson roused himself, and desired 
to be lifted up in the boat, that he might look about him. 
JSTisbet raised him up; but nothing could be seen, except 
the firing of the guns on shore, and what could be discerned 
by their flashes upon the stormy sea. In a few minutes, a 
general shriek was heard from the crew of the Fox, which 
had received a shot under water, and went down. Ninety- 
seven men were lost in her; eighty-three were saved, many 
by Nelson himself, whose exertions on this occasion greatly 
increased the pain and danger of his wound. The first 
ship which the boat could reach happened to be the Sea- 
liorse : but nothing could induce him to go on board, 
though he was assured, that if they attempted to row to 
another ship, it might be at the risk of his life. " I had 
rather suffer death," he replied, ''than alarm Mrs. Fre- 
mantle, by letting her see me in this state, when I can 



1797] THE LIFE OF NELSOlSf m 

give lier no tidings whatever of lier hnsband." They 
pushed on for the Tlieseiis. "When they came along-side, 
he peremptorily refused all assistance in getting on board, 
so impatient was he that the boat should return, in hopes 
that it might save a few more from the Fox. He desired 
to have only a single rope thrown over the side, which he 
twisted round his left hand, saying, " Let me alone: I have 
yet my legs left, and one arm. Tell the surgeon to make 
haste, and get his instruments. I know I must lose my 
right arm; so the sooner it is off the better." * The spirit 
which he displayed, in jumping np the ship's side, aston- 
ished everybody. 

Fremantle had been severely wounded ^ in the right arm, 
soon after the Admiral. He was fortunate enough to find 
a boat at the beach, and got instantly to his ship. Thompson 
was wounded ; Bowen f killed ; to the great regret of Nel- 
son; as was also one of his own officers. Lieutenant Weath- 
erhead, who had followed him from the Agamemnon, and 
whom he greatly and deservedly esteemed. Troubridge, 
meantime, fortunately for his party, missed the mole in the 
darkness, but pushed on shore nnder the batteries, close to 

* During the peace of Amiens, when Nelson was passing through 
Salisbury, and received there with those acclamations which fol- 
lowed him everywhere, he recognised, amid the crowd, a man who 
had assisted at the amputation, and attended him afterwards. He 
beckoned him up the stairs of the Council House, shook hands with 
him, and made him a present, in remembrance of his services at that 
time. The man took from his bosom a piece of lace, which he had 
torn from the sleeve of the amputated limb, saying he had preserved, 
and would preserve, it to the last moment, in memory of his old 
commander. — Soutliey^s Note. 

^ JSTelson's very first lines written with his left hand were to Mrs. 
Fremantle : " Tell me how Tom is, I hope he has saved his arm. 
Mine is otf ; but I thank Grod I am as well as I hope he is." Captain 
Fremantle's history will reward careful study, 

f " Captain Bowen's gold seals and chain, and sword, were pre- 
served in the town house at Teneriife, i.e. at Santa Cruz, the chief 
town in Teneriffe ; his watch and other valuables had been made 
booty of by the populace. In 1810, the magistrates of the island 
sent these memorials of the dead to his brother, Commissioner 
Bowen, saying that they conceived it would be gratifying to his feel- 
ings to receive them, and that as the two nations were now united 
in a cause which did equal honour to both, they did not wish to retain 
a trophy which could remind them that they had ever been opposed 
to each other." — Naval Chronicle, vol. xxiv., p. 393. — [Soiithey's 
Note]. 



112 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1797 

the south end of the Citadel. Captain Waller, of the 
Emerald, and two or three other boats, landed at the 
same time. The snrf was so high, that many others put 
back. The boats were instantly filled with water, and 
stove against the rocks; and most of the ammunition in 
the men's pouches was wetted. Having collected a few 
men, they pushed on to the great square, hoping there to 
find the Admiral, and the rest of the force. The ladders 
were all lost, so that they could make no immediate at- 
tempt on the Citadel; but they sent a sergeant, with two of 
the town's people, to summon it: this messenger never re- 
turned; and Troubridge having waited about an hour, in 
painful expectation of his friends, marched to join Captains 
Hood and Miller, who had effected their landing to the 
south-west. They then endeavoured to procure some in- 
telligence of the Admiral and the rest of the officers, but 
without success. By daybreak they had gathered together 
about eighty marines, eighty pikemen, and one hundred 
and eighty small-arm seamen; all the survivors of those 
who had made good their landing. They obtained some 
ammunition from the prisoners whom they had taken ; and 
marched on, to try what could be done at the Citadel with- 
out ladders. They found all the streets commanded by 
field-pieces, and several thousand Spaniards, with about a 
hundred French, under arms, approaching by every avenue. 
Finding himself without provisions, the powder wet, and 
no possibility of obtaining either stores or reinforcements 
from the ships, the boats being lost, Troubridge, with great 
presence of mind, sent Captain Samuel Hood with a flag 
of truce to the governor, to say he was prepared to burn 
the town, and would instantly set fire to it, if the Span- 
iards approached one inch nearer: — This, however, if he 
were compelled to do it, he should do with regret, for he 
had no wish to injure the inhabitants : and he was ready 
to treat upon these terms, — that the British troops should 
re-embark, with all their arms, of every kind, and take 
their own boats, if they were saved, or be provided with 
such others as might be wanting; they, on their part, en- 
gaging that the squadron should not molest the town, nor 
any of the Canary Islands: all prisoners on both sides to 
be given up. When these terms were proposed, the gov- 
ernor made answer, that the English ought to surrender 



1797] THE LIFE OF NELSON I13 

as prisoners of war : but Captain Hood, replied^, he was in- 
structed to say^ that if the terms were not accepted in five 
minutes, Captain Troubridge would set the town on fire, 
and attack the Spaniards at the point of the bayonet. 
Satisfied with his success, which was indeed sufficiently 
complete, and respecting, like a brave and honourable 
man, the gallantry of his enemy, the Spaniard acceded to 
the proposal, found, boats to re-embark them, their own 
having been dashed to pieces in landing, and before they 
parted gave every man a loaf of bread and a pint of wine. 
"And here," says Nelson in his journal, "it is right 
we should notice the noble and generous conduct of 
Don Juan Antonio Gutierrez, the Spanish governor. 
The moment the terms were agreed to, he directed our 
wounded men to be received into the hospitals, and all 
our people to be supplied with the best provisions that 
could be procured; and made it known, that the ships were 
at liberty to send on shore, and purchase whatever refresh- 
ments they were in want of during the time they might be 
off the island." A youth, by name Don Bernardo Colla- 
gon, strip t himself of his shirt, to make bandages for one 
of those Englishmen against whom, not an hour before, 
he had been engaged in battle. Nelson wrote to thank 
the governor for the humanity which he had displayed. 
Presents were interchanged between them. Sir Horatio 
offered to take charge of his despatches for the Spanish 
government; and thus actually became the first messenger 
to Spain of his own defeat. 

The total loss of the English, in killed, wounded, and 
drowned, amounted to 250. Nelson made no mention of 
his own wound in his official despatches; but in a private 
letter to Lord St. Vincent — the first which he wrote with 
his left hand — he shows himself to have been deeply 
affected by the failure of this enterprise. " I am become," 
he said, "a burthen to my friends, and useless to my 
country: but by my last letter you will perceive my anxi- 
ety for the promotion of my son-in-law, Josiah Nisbet. 
When I leave your command, I become dead to the world : 
— ' I go hence, and am no more seen. ' ^ If from poor 
Bowen's loss you think it proper to oblige me, I rest con- 
fident you will do it. The boy is under obligations to me; 

^ See John xvi. 5, 16. Was Nelson quoting from memory ? 
8 



114 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1797 

but lie repaid me, by bringing me from tlie mole of Santa 
Cruz. I hope you will be able to give me a frigate, to 
convey the remains of my carcass to England." — " A left- 
handed admiral," he said in a subsequent letter, "will 
never again be considered as useful; therefore, the sooner I 
get to a very humble cottage the better; and make room for 
a sounder man to serve the state. ' ' His first letter to Lady 
Nelson was written under the same opinion, but in a more 
cheerful strain. "It was the chance of war," said he, 
"and I have great reason to be thankful: and I know it 
will add much to your pleasure to find that Josiah, under 
God's providence, was principally instrumental in saving 
my life. I shall not be surprised if I am neglected and 
forgotten : probably I shall no longer be considered as use- 
ful: however, I shall feel rich if I continue to enjoy your 
affection. I beg neither you nor my father will think 
much of this mishap : — my mind has long been made up 
to such an event." 

His son-in-law, according to his wish, was immediately 
promoted; and honours enough to heal his wounded spirit 
awaited him in England. Letters were addressed to him 
by the Eirst Lord of the Admiralty, and by his steady 
friend, the Duke of Clarence, to congratulate him on his 
return, covered as he was with glory. He assured the 
duke, in his reply, that not a scrap of that ardour with 
which he had hitherto served his king had been shot away. 
The freedoms of the cities of Bristol and London ^ were 
conferred on him : he was invested with the Order of the 
Bath; and received a pension of £1,000 a year. The 
Memorial which, as a matter of form, he was called upon 
to present on this occasion, exhibited an extraordinary cat- 
alogue of services performed during the war. It stated, 
t'hat he had been in four actions with the fleets of the 
enemy, and in three actions with boats employed in cut- 
ting out of harbour, in destroying vessels, and in taking 
three towns: he had served on shore with the army four 
months, and commanded the batteries at the sieges of 

^ The chamberlain who presented him with the freedom of the city 
of London was the much reviled and much admired champion of the 
mob, John Wilkes. Many entertaining references to him are to be 
found in Boswell's Jolmson. See Gardiner, History of England, 
pp. 769-79 ; Green, History of England, pp. 767, 768, 773, 774. 



1797] THE LIFE OF NELSON 115 

Bastia and Calvi; he had assisted at the capture of seven 
sail of the line, six frigates, four corvettes, and eleven pri- 
vateers : taken and destroyed nearly fifty sail of merchant 
vessels; and actually been engaged against the enemy up- 
wards of one hundred and twenty times; in which service 
he had lost his right eye and right arm, and been severely 
wounded and bruised in his body. 

His sufferings from the lost limb were long and painful. 
A nerve had been taken up in one of the ligatures at the 
time of the operation; and the ligature, according to the 
practice of the French surgeons, was of silk, instead of 
waxed thread : this produced a constant irritation and dis- 
charge; and the ends of the ligature being pulled every 
day, in hopes of bringing it away, occasioned fresh agony. ^ 
He had scarcely any intermission of pain, day or night, 
for three months after his return to England. Lady Nel- 
son, at his earnest request, attended the dressing of his 
arm, till she had acquired sufficient resolution and skill to 
dress it herself. One night, during this state of suffering, 
after a day of constant pain, Nelson retired early to bed, in 
hope of enjoying some respite by means of laudanum. He 
was at that time lodging in Bond Street; and the family 
was soon disturbed by a mob knocking loudly and violently 
at the door. The news of Duncan's victory^ had been 
made public, and the house was not illuminated. But 
when the mob were told that Admiral Nelson lay there in 
bed, badly wounded, the foremost of them made answer: 
" You shall hear no more from us to-night; " and, in fact, 
the feeling of respect and sympathy was communicated 
from one to another with such effect, that, under the con- 
fusion of such a night, the house was not molested again. 

About the end of November, after a night of sound 
sleep, he found the arm nearly free from pain: the sur- 
geon was immediately sent for, to examine it; and the lig- 
ature came away with the slightest touch. From that 
time it began to heal. As soon as he thought his health 
established, he sent the following form of thanksgiving 
to the minister of St. George's, Hanover Square: "An 

^ The doctor's son should obtain from his father a commentary on 
this passage for the benefit of the class. 

'^ At Camperdown, October 11, 1797. See Green, History of Eng- 
land, p, 810 ; Gardiner, History of England, p. 837. 



116 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1797 

officer desires to return thanks to Almiglity God for liis 
perfect recovery from a severe wound^ and also for the 
many mercies bestowed on him." 

Not having been in England till now, since he lost his 
eye, he went to receive a year's pay, as smart money; ^ but 
could not obtain payment, because he had neglected to 
bring a certificate from a surgeon, that the sight was actu- 
ally destroyed. A little irritated that this form should be 
insisted upon; because, though the fact was not apparent, 
he thought it was sufficiently notorious, he procured a 
certificate, at the same time, for the loss of his arm; say- 
ing, they might just as well doubt one as the other. This 
put him in good humour with himself, and with the clerk 
who had offended him. On his return to the office, the 
clerk, finding it was only the annual pay of a captain, 
observed, he thought it had been more. '' Oh! " replied 
Nelson, "this is only for an eye. In a few days I shall 
come for an arm; and in a little time longer, God knows, 
most probably for a leg." Accordingly, he soon after- 
wards went; and with perfect good humour exhibited the 
certificate of the loss of his arm. 

^ Money paid for a wound. 



CHAPTER V. 

Nelson rejoins Earl St. Vincent in the Vanguard — Sails in pursuit 
of the French to Egypt— Returns to Sicily, and sails again to Egypt 
—Battle of the Nile. 

Early in the year 1798, Sir Horatio I^elson hoisted his 
flag in the Vanguard, and was ordered to rejoin Earl St. 
Vincent. Upon his departure, his father addressed him 
with that affectionate solemnity by which all his letters 
were distinguished. " I trust in the Lord, " said he^ " that 
He will prosper your going out and your coming in. I 
earnestly desired once more to see you, and that wish has 
been heard. If I should presume to say I hope to see 
you again, the question would readily be asked. How old 
art thou ? Vale I vale ! Domine, vale / " It is said that a 
gloomy foreboding hung on the spirits of Lady Nelson at 
their parting. This could have arisen only from the dread 
of losing him by the chance of war. Any apprehension of 
losing his affections could hardly have existed; for all his 
correspondence to this time shows that he thought himself 
happy in his marriage ; and his private character had hith- 
erto been as spotless as his public conduct. One of the 
last things he said to her was, that his own ambition was 
satisfied, but that he went to raise her to that rank in 
which he had long wished to see her. 

Immediately on his rejoining the fleet, he was despatched 
to the Mediterranean, with a small squadron, in order to 
ascertain, if possible, the object of the great expedition 
which at that time was fitting out, under Buonaparte, at 
Toulon. The defeat of this armament, whatever might be 
its destination, was deemed by the British government an 
object paramount to every other; and Earl St. Vincent was 
directed, if he thought it necessary, to take his whole force 
into the Mediterranean, to relinquish, for that purpose, 
the blockade of the Spanish fleet, as a thing of inferior mo- 
ment: but, if he should deem a detachment sufficient, " I 



118 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

think it almost unnecessary/' said the First Lord of the 
Admiralty, in his secret instructions, 'Ho suggest to you 
the propriety of putting it under Sir Horatio ^NTelson." 
It is to the honour of Earl St. Vincent, that he had already 
made the same choice. This ajDpointment to a service in 
which so much honour might be acquired gave great 
offence to the senior admirals of the fleet. Sir William 
Parker, who was a very excellent officer, and as gallant a 
man as any in the navy, and Sir John Orde, who on all 
occasions of service had acquitted himself with great 
honour, each wrote to Lord Spencer, complaining that so 
marked a preference should have been given to a junior of 
the same fleet. This resentment is what most men in a 
like case would feel, and if the preference thus given to 
Nelson had not originated in a clear perception that (as 
his friend Oollingwood said of him a little while before) 
his spirit was equal to all undertakings, and his resources 
fitted to all occasions, an injustice would have been done 
to them by his apiaointment. But if the services were con- 
ducted with undeviating respect to seniority, the naval and 
military character would soon be brought down to the dead 
level of mediocrity. 

The armament at Toulon consisted of thirteen ships of 
the line, seven forty-gun frigates, with twenty-four smaller 
vessels of war, and nearly 200 transports. Mr. Udney, 
our consul at Leghorn, was the first person who procured 
certain intelligence of the enemy's design against Malta; 
and, from his own sagacity, foresaw that Egypt must be 
their after object. Nelson sailed from Gibraltar on the 
9th of May, with the Vcmguard, Orion, and Alexander, 
seventy-fours; the Caroline, Flora, Emerald, and Terjp- 
sicliore, frigates; and the Bonne Citoyenne sloop of war, 
to watch this formidable armament. On the 19th, when 
they were in the Gulf of Lyons, a gale came on from the 
N.W. It moderated so much on the 20th, as to enable 
them to get their top-gallant-masts and yards aloft. After 
dark, it again began to blow strong : but the ships had been 
prepared for a gale, and therefore Nelson's mind was easy. 
Shortly after midnight, however, his main top-mast went 
over the side, and the mizen top-mast soon afterwards. 
The night was so tempestuous, that it was impossible for 
any signal either to be seen or heard; and Nelson deter- 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON ng 

mined;, as soon as it should be daybreak^ to weai% and scud 
before the gale : but at half -past three the foremast went 
into three pieces, and the bowsprit was found to be sprung 
in three places. 

When day broke, they succeeded in wearing ^ the ship 
with a remnant of the sprit- sail : this was hardly to have 
been expected : the Vanguard was at that time twenty-five 
leagues south of the islands of Hieres, with her head lying 
to the N.E., and if she had not wore, the ship must have 
drifted to Corsica. Captain Ball,^ in the Alexaiidei^, took 
her in tow, to carry her into the Sardinian harbour of St. 
Pietro. Nelson, apprehensive that this attem^Dt might 
endanger both vessels, ordered him to cast off: but that 
excellent officer, with a spirit like his commander's, re- 
plied, he was confident he could save the Va^iguard, and 
by God's help he would do it. There had been a previous 
coolness between these great men; but from this time Nel- 
son became fully sensible of the extraordinary talents of Cap- 
tain Ball, and a sincere friendship subsisted between them 
during the remainder of their lives. "I ought not," said 
the Admiral, writing to his wife, "I ought not to call 
what has happened to the Vanguard by the cold name of 
accident: I believe firmly it was the Almighty's goodness, 
to check my consummate vanity. I hope it has made me 
a better officer, as I feel confident it has made me a better 
man. Figure to yourself, on Sunday evening, at sunset, 
a vain man walking in his cabin, with a squadron around 
him, who looked up to their chief to lead them to glory, 
and in whom their chief placed the firmest reliance that 
the proudest ships of equal numbers belonging to France 
would have lowered their flags; — figure to yourself, on 
Monday morning, when the sun rose, this proud man, his 
ship dismasted, his fleet dispersed, and himself in such 
distress, that the meanest frigate out of France would have 
been an unwelcome guest." Nelson had, indeed, more 
reason to refuse the cold name of accident to this tempest 

^ To bring a vessel about by putting the helm up instead of down, 
as in tacking. The vessel is first run off before the wind, and then 
brought to on the new tack. 

^ At St. Omer's, fourteen years before, Nelson had been disgusted 
with Ball's airs and epaulets, the latter being at that time a French 
ornament and not to the hero's taste. Ball is an admirable subject 
for inductive study. 



120 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

than lie was then aware of; for on that very day the French 
fleet sailed from Toulon, and must have passed within a 
few leagues of his little squadron, which was thus pre- 
served by the thick weather that came on. 

The British government at this time, with a becoming 
spirit, gave orders, that any port in the Mediterranean 
should be considered as hostile, where the governor or 
chief magistrate should refuse to let our ships of war pro- 
cure supplies of provisions, or of any article which they 
might require. 

In these orders the ports of Sardinia were excepted. The 
continental possessions of the King of Sardinia wxre at this 
time completely at the mercy of the French, and that 
prince was now discovering, when too late, that the terms 
to which he had consented, for the purpose of escaping 
immediate danger, necessarily involved the loss of the 
dominions which they were intended to preserve. The 
citadel of Turin was now occupied by the French troops; 
and his wretched court feared to afford the common rights 
of humanity to British ships, lest it should give the French 
occasion to seize on the remainder of his dominions: — a 
measure for which, it was certain, they would soon make 
a pretext, if they did not find one. Nelson was informed, 
that he could not be permitted to enter the port of St. 
Pietro. Eegardless of this interdict, which, under his cir- 
cumstances, it would have been an act of suicidal folly to 
have regarded, he anchored in the harbour; and, by the 
exertions of Sir James Saumarez, Captain Ball, and Cap- 
tain Berry, the Vcmgiiard wsis refitted in four days; months 
would have been employed in refitting her in England. 
ISTelson, with that proper sense of merit wherever it was 
found, which proved at once the goodness and greatness of 
his character, especially recommended to Earl St. Vincent 
the carpeilter of the Alexmicler, under whose direction the 
ship had been repaired; stating, that he was an old and 
faithful servant of the crown, who had been nearly thirty 
years a warrant ^ carpenter; and begging most earnestly 
that the Commander-in-Chief would recommend him to 
the particular notice of the Board of Admiralty. He did 

^ In the British navy there are two classes of officers — commissioned, 
including flag-officers, captains, and lieutenants ; and warrant, in- 
cluding masters, boatswains, carpenters, etc. 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 121 

not leave the harbour without expressing his sense of the 
treatment which he had received there, in a letter to the 
Viceroy of Sardinia. " Sir," it said, "having, by a gale 
of wind, sustained some trifling damages, I anchored a 
small part of his Majesty's fleet under my orders off this 
island, and was surprised to hear, by an officer sent by the 
governor, that admittance was to be refused to the flag of 
his Britannic Majesty into this port. When I reflect, 
that my most gracious sovereign is the oldest, I believe, 
and certainly the most faithful ally which the King of 
Sardinia ever had, I could feel the sorrow which it must 
have been to his Majesty to have given such an order; 
and also for your excellency, who had to direct its execu- 
tion. (^ I cannot but look at the African shore, where the 
followers of Mahomet are performing the part of the 
good Samaritan, which I look for in vain at St. Peter's, 
where it said the Christian religion is professed." 

The delay which was thus occasioned was useful to him 
in many respects: it enabled him to complete his supply 
of water, and to receive a reinforcement, which Earl St. 
Vincent, being himself reinforced from England, was 
enabled to send him. It consisted of the best ships of 
his fleet: the Cullodeii, seventy-four. Captain T. Trou- 
bridge; Qoliath, seventy-four. Captain T. Foley; Minotaur, 
seventy-four. Captain T. Louis ; Defence, seventy-four. 
Captain John Peyton; Belleroplion, seventy-four. Captain 
H. D. E. Darby; Majestic, seventy-four. Captain G. B. 
Westcott; Zealous, seventy-four, Captain S. Hood; Siuift- 
sure, seventy-four, Captain B. Hallo well; Theseus, seventy- 
four. Captain R. W. Miller; Audacious, seventy-four. 
Captain Davidge Gould. The Leander, fifty. Captain T. 
B. Thompson, was afterwards added. These ships were 
made ready for the service as soon as Earl St. Vincent 
received advice from England that he was to be reinforced. 
As soon as the reinforcement was seen from the mast- 
head of the Admiral's ship, off Cadiz Bay, signal was 
immediately made to Captain Troubridge to put to sea; 
and he was out of sight before the ships from home cast 
anchor in the British station. Troubridge took with him 
no instructions to Nelson as to the course he was to steer, 
nor any certain account of the enemy's destination: every- 
thing was left to his own judgment. Unfortunately, the 



122 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

frigates had been separated from him in the tempest^ and 
had not been able to rejoin: they songht him unsuccess- 
fully in the Bay of IS'aples^ where they obtained no tidings 
of his course: and he sailed without them. 

The first news of the enemy's armament was, that it 
had surprised Malta. ^ Nelson formed a plan for attacking 
it while at anchor at Gozo : but on the 22d of June intel- 
ligence reached him that the French had left that island on 
the 16th, the day after their arrival. It was clear that their 
destination was eastward — he thought for Egypt — and for 
Egypt, therefore, he made all sail. Had the frigates been 
with him he could scarcely have failed to gain information 
of the enemy : for want of them, he only spoke three ves- 
sels on the way; two came from Alexandria, one from the 
Archipelago; and neither of them had seen anything of 
the French. He arrived off Alexandria on the 28th, and 
the enemy were not there, neither was there any account of 
them; but the governor was endeavouring to put the city in 
a state of defence, having received advice from Leghorn, 
that the French expedition was intended against Egypt, 
after it had taken Malta. Nelson then shaped his course 
to the northward, for Caramania, and steered from thence 
along the southern side of Candia, carrying a press of 
sail, both night and day, with a contrary wind. It would 
have been his delight, he said, to have tried Buonaparte on 
a wind.^ It would have been the delight of Europe, too, 
and the blessing of the world, if that fleet had been over- 
taken with its general on board. ^ But of the myriads^ 
and millions of human beings who would have been pre- 
served by that day's victory, there is not one to whom such 
essential benefit would have resulted, as to Buonaparte him- 
self. It would have spared him his defeat at Acre — his\ 
only disgrace ; ^ for to have been defeated by Nelson upon ^ 
the seas would not have been disgraceful: it would have 
spared him all his after enormities. Hitherto his career 

^ See p. 156. 

^ " For he commands the fleet as well as army," — Nelson. " On a 
wind " means with the wind contrary. 

^ A debate as to the probable result if Nelson and Napoleon had 
met will be a profitable exercise. ^ Ten thousands. 

^ These words were written, it will be remembered, before the fall 
of Napoleon, disgrace evidently meaning " defeat." For Acre, see 
Mahan, Influence of Sea Power on French Revolution, i., 294. 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 123 

had been glorious; the baneful principles of his heart 
had never yet passed his li^os; history would have repre- 
sented him as a soldier of fortune, who had faithfully 
served the cause in which he engaged ; and whose career had 
been distinguished by a series of successes, unexampled 
in modern times. (A romantic obscurity would have hung 
over the expedition to Egypt, and he would have escaped 
the perpetration of those crimes which have incarnadined^ 
his soul with a deeper dye than that of the purple ^ for which 
he committed them — those acts of perfidy, midnight mur- 
der, ^ usurpation, and remorseless tyranny, which have con- 
signed his name to universal execration, now and forever. 

Conceiving that when an officer is not successful in his 
plans, it is absolutely necessary that he should explain the 
motives upon which they were founded, Nelson wrote at 
this time an account and vindication of his conduct for 
having carried the fieet to Egypt. The objection which 
he anticipated was, that he ought not to have made so long 
a voyage without more certain information. ' ' My answer, ' ' 
said he, ^' is ready — Who was I to get it from ? The gov- 
ernments of Naples and Sicily either knew not, or chose 
to keep me in ignorance. Was I to wait patiently until I 
heard certain accounts ? If Egypt were their object, be- 
fore I could hear of them they would have been in India. 
To do nothing was disgraceful; therefore I made use of 
my understanding. I am before your lordships' judg- 
ment; and if, under all circumstances, it is decided that 
I am wrong, I ought, for the sake of our country, to 
be superseded; for at this moment, when I know the 
French are not in Alexandria, I hold the same opinion as 
off Cape Passaro — that, under all circumstances, I was 
right in steering for Alexandria: and by that opinion I 
must stand or fall." Captain Ball, to whom he showed 
this paper, told him, he should recommend a friend never 
to begin a defence of his conduct before he was accused of 

^ A word icvented by Shakspere, who says, Macbeth, Act II., 

sc. ii. : 

" Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood 
Clean from my hand ? No, this my hand will rather 
The multitudinous seas incarnadine, 
Making the green one red." 

Its root is car, the Latin for " flesh." ^ The imperial purple. 

^ A reference to the assassination of the Due d'Enghien, March 
21, 1804. 



124 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

error: he might give the fullest reasons for what he had 
done^, expressed in such terms as would evince that he had 
acted from the strongest conviction of being right; and 
of course he must expect that the public would view 
it in the same light. Captain Ball judged rightly of the 
public^ whose first impulses, though from want of sufficient 
information they must frequently be erroneous, are gener- 
ally founded upon just feelings. But the public are easily 
misled, and there are always persons ready to mislead them. 
Nelson had not yet attained that fame which compels envy 
to be silent; and when it was known in England that he 
had returned from an unsuccessful pursuit, it was said that 
he deserved impeachment; and Earl St. Vincent was se- 
verely censured for having sent so young an officer upon so 
important a service. 

Baffled in his pursuit, he returned to Sicily. The Nea- 
politan ministry had determined to give his squadron no 
assistance, being resolved to do nothing which could pos- 
sibly endanger their peace with the French Directory; by 
means, however, of Lady Hamilton's influence at court, 
he procured secret orders to the Sicilian governors; and, 
under those orders, obtained every thing which he wanted 
at Syracuse: — a timely supply; without which, he always 
said, he could not have recommenced his pursuit with any 
hope of success. "It is an old saying," said he in his 
letter, " that the devil's children have the devil's luck. I 
cannot to this moment learn, beyond vague conjecture, 
where the French fleet are gone to; and having gone a 
round of six hundred leagues at this season of the year, 
with an expedition incredible, here I am, as ignorant of 
the situation of the enemy as I was twenty-seven days ago. 
Every moment I have to regret the frigates having left 
me; had one-half of them been with me, I could not have 
wanted information. Should the French be so strongly 
secured in port that I cannot get at them, I shall immedi- 
ately shift my flag into some other ship, and send the 
Vangiicird to Naples to be refitted; for hardly any person 
but myself would have continued on service so long in 
such a wretched state." Vexed, however, and disap- 
pointed as he was. Nelson, with the true spirit of a hero, 
was full of hope. " Thanks to your exertions," said he, 
writing to Sir William and Lady Hamilton, ^ ' we have vict- 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 125 

ualled and watered; and surely^ watering at the fountain 
of Aretliusa/ we must have victory. We shall sail with 
the first breeze; and be assured I will return either crowned 
with laurel or covered with cypress. " ^ Earl St. Vincent he 
assured^ that if the French were above water he would find 
them out : — he still held his opinion that they were bound for 
Egypt: '^ but," said he to the First Lord of the Admiralty, 
"be they bound to the antipodes, your lordship may rely 
that I will not lose a moment in bringing them to action. ' ' 

On the 25th of July he sailed from Syracuse for the 
Morea. Anxious beyond measure, and irritated that the 
enemy should so long have eluded him, the tediousness of 
the nights made him impatient; and the officer of the 
watch was repeatedly called on to let him know the hour, 
and convince him, who measured time by his own eager- 
ness, that it was not yet daybreak. The squadron made 
the Gulf of Coron on the 28th. Troubridge entered the 
port, and returned with intelligence that the French had 
been seen about four weeks before steering to the S.E. 
from Candia. J^elson then determined immediately to 
return to Alexandria, and the British fleet accordingly, 
with every sail set, stood once more for the coast of Egypt. 
On the 1st of August, about ten in the morning, they 
came in sight of Alexandria; the port had been vacant and 
solitary when they saw it last; it was now crowded with 
ships, and they perceived with exultation that the tri-color 
flag was flying upon the walls. At four in the afternoon. 
Captain Hood, in the Zealous, made the signal for the ene- 
my's fleet. For many preceding days Nelson had hardly 
taken either sleep or food : he now ordered his dinner to be 
served, while preparations were making for battle; and when 
his officers rose from the table, and went to their separate 
stations, he said to them : '^ Before this time to-morrow, I 
shall have gained a peerage or Westminster Abbey." 

The French, steering direct for Candia, had made an 

^ See any good work on classical mythology. Gayley's is the best. 

^ This letter is probably a fabrication of Lady Hamilton's. It is 
taken from the Life of Nelson by Harrison, which is full of lies 
from beginning to end ; Nelson probably had never heard of Are- 
thusa, and if he had would not have referred to her ; and, finally, it 
was produced at a time when Lady Hamilton was trying to obtain 
a pension from the British government for the services here said to 
have been performed. 



126 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

angular passage for Alexandria; whereas Nelson, in pur- 
suit of tlieni;, made straight for that place, and thus mate- 
rially shortened the distance. The comparative smallness 
of his force made it necessary to sail in close order, and it 
covered a less space than it would have done if the frigates 
had been with him: the weather also was constantly hazy. 
These circumstances prevented the English from discover- 
ing the enemy on the way to Egypt, though it appeared, 
upon examining the Journals of the French officers taken 
in the action, that the two fleets must actually have crossed 
on the night of the 22d of June. During the return to 
Syracuse, the chances of falling in with them were fewer. 

Why Buonaparte, having effected his landing, should not 
have suffered the fleet to return, has never yet been ex- 
plained. Thus much is certain, that it was detained by his 
command; though, Avith his accustomed falsehood, he ac- 
cused Admiral Brueys, after that officer's death, of having 
lingered on the coast, contrary to orders. The French fleet 
arrived at Alexandria on the 1st of July; and Brueys, not 
being able to enter the port, which time and neglect had 
ruined, moored his ships in Aboukir Bay, in a strong and 
compact line of battle; the headmost vessel, according to 
his own account, being as close as possible to a shoal on the 
N.W., and the rest of the fleet forming a kind of curve 
along the line of deep Avater, so as not to be turned by any 
means in the S. W. By Buonaparte's desire, he had offered 
a rcAvard of 10,000 livres to any pilot of the country Avho 
Avould carry the squadron in; but none could be found 
Avho would venture to take charge of a single vessel draw- 
ing more than twenty feet. He had, therefore, made the 
best of his situation, and chosen the strongest position 
which he could possibly take in an open road. The com- 
missary of the fleet said, they were moored in such a man- 
ner as to bid defiance to a force more than double their 
own. This presumption could not then be thought unrea- 
sonable. Admiral Barrington, when moored in a similar 
manner off St. Lucia, in the year 1778, beat off the Oomte 
d'Estaing in three several attacks, though his force was 
inferior by almost one-third to that which assailed it. 
Here, the advantage of numbers, both in ships, guns, 
and men, was in favour of the French. They had thirteen 
ships of the line and four frigates, carrying 1,196 guns. 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 127 

and 11^230 men. The English had the same number of 
ships of the line, and one fifty-gun ship, carrying 1,012 
guns, and 8,068 men. The English ships were all seventy- 
fours; the Erench had three eighty-gun ships, and one 
three-decker of 120. 

During the Avhole pursuit, it had been Nelson's practice, 
whenever circumstances would permit, to have his captains 
on board the Vanguard, and explain to them his own ideas 
of the different and best modes of attack, and such plans 
as he proposed to execute, on falling in with the enemy, 
whatever their situation might be. There is no possible 
position, it is said, which he did not take into calculation. 
His officers were thus fully acquaiuted with his principles 
of tactics: and such was his confidence in their abilities, 
that the only thing determined upon, in case they should 
find the Erench at anchor, was for the ships to form as 
most convenient for their mutual support, and to anchor 
by^ the stern. "Eirst gain the victory," he said, "and 
then make the best use of it you can." The moment he 
perceived the position of the Erench, that intuitive genius 
with which Nelson was endowed displayed itself; and it 
instantly struck him, that where there was room for an 
enemy's ship to swing, there was room for one of ours to 
anchor.^ The plan which he intended to pursue, therefore, 
was to keep entirely on the outer side of the Erench line, 
and station his ships, as far as he was able, one on the 
outer bow, and another on the outer quarter, of each of 
the enemy's. This plan of doubling on the enemy's ships 
was projected by Lord Hood, when he designed to attack 
the Erench fleet at their anchorage in Gour jean Road. ^ Lord 
Hood found it impossible to make the attempt; but the 
thought was not lost upon Nelson, who acknowledged 
himself, on this occasion, indebted for it to his old and 
excellent commander. Captain Berry, when he compre- 
hended the scope * of the design, exclaimed with transport, 

^ Does hy mean '' near " or " by means of a cable from the stern " ? 
Suppose a ship were anchored from the bow when the wind was 
blowing from the stern, what would the effect be ? 

^ A ship at anchor must have room to swing about a circle the 
radius of which is the length of her cable plus the length of the ship. 
Why? =Seep. 70. 

* Did Southey comprehend its scope ? Is his description clear ? 
Does " double " mean to put two ships against each one of the ene- 



128 THE LIFE OF NELSOlSf [1798 

f'li we succeed^ wliat will the world say!"^ — "There is 
no if in the case/' replied the Admiral: "that we shall 
succeed, is certain: who may live to tell the story, is a 
very difterent question." 

As the squadron ad vanced, they were assailed by a shower 
of shot and shells from the batteries on the island, and the 
enemy opened a steady fire from the starboard side of their 
whole line, within half gun-shot distance, full into the bows 
of our van ships. It was received in silence : the men on 
board every ship were employed aloft in furling sails, and 
below in tending the braces, and makiug ready for anchor- 
ing. A miserable sight for the French; who, with all 
their skill, and all their courage, and all their advantages 
of numbers and situation, were upon that element on 
which, when the hour of trial comes, a Frenchman has no 
hope. Admiral Brueys was a brave and able man; yet the 
indelible character of his country broke out in one of his 
letters, wherein he delivered it as his private opinion, that 
the English had missed him, because, not being superior 
in force, they did not think it prudent to try their strength 
with him. — The moment was now come in which he was 
to be undeceived. 

A French brig was instructed to decoy the English, by 
manoeuvring so as to tempt them toward a shoal lying off 
the island of Bekier;^ but JSTelson either knew the dan- 
ger, or suspected some deceit; and the lure was unsuc- 
cessful. Captain Foley led the way in the Goliath, out- 
sailing the Zealous, which for some minutes disputed this 
post of honour with him. He had long conceived that 
if the enemy were moored in line of battle in with the 
land, the best plan of attack would be to lead between 
them and the shore, because the French guns on that side 
were not likely to be manned, nor even ready for action. 
Intending, therefore, to fix himself on the inner bow of 

my's, or to sail between them and the shore, " doubling " the end of 
their line ? Notice its use below. See Mahan, Influence of Sea 
Power on French devolution, I., pp. 273, 274 ; Laughton, Nelson, 
pp. 115, 116. 

^ It is stated in the Nelson despatches on the authority of Lady 
Berry, that Captain Berry never made this somewhat pusillanimous 
remark, and was much troubled by the story. 

2 The name Aboukir is derived from the title of this island. Cap- 
tain Ball rechristened it Nelson's Island. 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 129 

the Ouerrier, he kept as near the edge of the bank as the 
depth of water would admit; but his anchor hung,^ and 
having opened his fire, he drifted to the second ship, the 
Conquer ant, before it was clear ; then anchored by the stern, 
inside of her, and in ten minutes shot away her mast. 
Hood, in the Zealous, perceiving this, took the station 
which the Goliath intended to have occupied, and totally 
disabled the Ouerrier in twelve minutes. The third 
ship which doubled the enemy's van was the Orion, Sir J. 
Saumarez; she passed to Avindward of the Zealous, and 
opened her larboard guns as long as they bore on the Guer- 
rier ; then passing inside the Goliath, sunk a frigate 
which annoyed her, hauled round toward the French line, 
and anchoring inside, between the fifth and sixth ships 
from the Guerrier, took her station on the larboard bow 
of the Franklin, and the quarter of the Peuple Souverain, 
receiving and returning the fire of both. 'The sun was 
now nearly down. The Audacious, Captain Gould, pour- 
ing a heavy fire into the Guerrier and the Conquerant, 
fixed herself on the larboard bow of the latter; and when 
that ship struck, passed on to the Petiple Souverain. The 
Theseus, Captain Miller, followed, brought down the Guer- 
rier's remaining main and mizen masts, then anchored 
inside of the Spartiate, the third in the French line. 

While these advanced ships doubled the French line, the 
Vangtcard was the first that anchored on the outer side 
of the enemy, within half pistol shot of their third ship, 
the 8partiaie. Nelson had six colours ^ flying in different 
parts of his rigging, lest they should be shot away; — that 
they should be struck, no British Admiral considers as a 
■possibility. He veered half a cable,^ and instantly opened 
a tremendous fire; under cover of which the other four 



^ Became entangled so that it could not be lowered at once to the 
bottom, 

^ As Sir Horatio Nelson was a Rear-Admiral of the Blue, the blue 
ensign was the proper colors of his squadron. Pursuant, however, 
to an order from the Earl of St. Vincent, the white or St. George's 
ensign was used in the battle, because it was more distinct from the 
French flag (the tricolor, blue, white, and red vertically) than either 
a blue or a red ensign ; and thus the Red Cross of St. George, the 
ancient banner of England, witnessed that glorious victory. — Sir 
N. H. Nicolas. 

^ Slackened it sixty fathoms. 

9 



130 th:e life of nelson [nm 

ships of his division, tlie Minotaur, Bellero2)lion, Defence, 
and Majestic, sailed on ahead of the Admiral. In a few 
minutes, every man stationed at the first six guns in the 
fore part of the Vanguard's deck was killed or wounded 
— these guns were three times cleared. Captain Louis, in 
the Minotaur, anchored next ahead, and took off the fire 
of the Aquilofi, the fourth in the enemy's line. The Bel- 
leropJion, Captain Darby, passed ahead and dropped her 
stern anchor on the starboard bow of the Orient, seventh 
in the line, Brueys' own ship, of one hundred and twenty 
guns, whose difference of force was in proportion of more 
than seven to three, and whose weight of ball, from the 
lower deck alone, exceeded that from the whole broadside 
of the Belleroylion. Captain Peyton, in the Defence, took 
his station ahead of the Minotaur, and engaged the 
Franlclin, the sixth in the line; by which judicious move- 
ment the British line remained unbroken. The Majestic, 
Captain Westcott, got entangled with the main rigging of 
one of the French ships astern of the Orient, and suff'ered 
dreadfully from that three-decker's fire: but she swung 
clear, and closely engaging the Heureux, the ninth ship on 
the starboard bow, received also the fire of the Tonnant, 
which was the eighth in the line. The other four ships 
of the British squadron, having been detached previous to 
the discovery of the French, were at a considerable dis- 
tance when the action began. It commenced at half after 
six; about seven, night closed, and there was no other light 
than that of the fire of the contending fleets. 

Troubridge, in the Gulloden, then foremost of the re- 
maining ships, was two leagues astern. He came on sound- 
ing, as the others had done : as he advanced, the increas- 
ing darkness increased the difficulty of the navigation; and 
suddenly, after having found eleven fathoms water, before 
the lead could be hove again, he was fast aground: nor 
could all his own exertions, joined to those of the Leander 
and the Mutine brig, which came to his assistance, get him 
off in time to bear a part in the action.^ His ship, however, 

^ In a letter to Captain Darby of the Belleroplio7i Troubridge de- 
clared that he had fifty times rather have been wounded, as Darby 
was, than kept out of the action ; that he had with diificulty been 
restrained from shooting himself ; and that even as he wrote he was 
forced to shed tears. Captain Darby, and Captain Gould who was 
present when the letter was received, both wept. 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 131 

served as a beacon to the Alexander and Swift sure, which 
would else, from the course which they were holding, have 
gone considerably farther on the reef, and must inevitably 
have been lost. These ships entered the bay, and took 
their stations, in the darkness, in a manner long spoken of 
with admiration by all who remembered it. Captain Hal- 
lowell, in the Sioiftsure, as he was bearing down, fell in 
with what seemed to be a strange sail : Nelson had directed 
his ships to hoist four lights horizontally at the mizen- 
peak, as soon as it became dark; and this vessel had no 
such distinction. Hallowell, however, with great judg- 
ment, ordered his men not to fire: if she was an enemy, 
he said, she was in too disabled a state to escape; but, from 
her sails being loose, and the way in which her head was, 
it was probable she might be an English ship. It was the 
Bellerophon, overpowered by the huge Orient : her lights 
had gone overboard, nearly 200 of her crew were killed or 
wounded, all her masts and cables had been shot away; 
and she was drifting out of the line, toward the lee side of 
the bay. Her station, at this important time, was occu- 
pied by the Swift sure, which opened a steady fire on the 
quarter of the Franklin, and the bows of the French 
Admiral. At the same instant. Captain Ball, with the 
Alexander, passed under his stern, and anchored within 
side on his larboard quarter, raking him, and keeping up a 
severe fire of musketry upon his decks. The last ship 
which arrived to complete the destruction of the enemy 
was the Leander. Captain Thompson, finding that 
nothing could be done that night to get off the Culloden, 
advanced with the intention of anchoring ath wart-hawse ^ 
of the Orient. The FranMin was so near her ahead, that 
there was not room for him to pass clear of the two; he, 
therefore, took his station ath wart-hawse of the latter^ in 
such a position as to rake ^ both. 

The two first ships of the French line had been dismasted 
within a quarter of an hour after the commencement of 
the action; and the others had in that time suffered so se- 
verely, that victory was already certain. The third, fourth, 
and fifth, were taken possession of at half -past eight. 

^ Across the bow. 

^ To fire the length of ; to fire into the stern or bow, instead of into 
the side of a vessel. 





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1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 133 

Meantime Nelson received a severe wound on the head 
from a piece of landridge ^ shot. Captain Berry caught 
him in his arms as he was falling. The great effusion of 
blood occasioned an apprehension that the wound was 
mortal: Nelson himself thought so: a large flap of the 
skin of the forehead, cut from the bone, had fallen over 
one eye : and the other being blind, he was in total dark- 
ness. When he was carried down, the surgeon, — in the 
midst of a scene scarcely to be conceived by those who have 
never seen a cockpit in time of action, and the heroism 
which is displayed amid its horrors, — with a natural and 
pardonable eagerness, quitted the poor fellow then under 
his hands, that he might instantly attend the Admiral. 
" No! " said Nelson, " I will take my turn with my brave 
fellows." Nor would he suffer his own wound to be ex- 
amined till every man who had been previously wounded 
was properly attended to. Fully believing that the wound 
was mortal, and that he was about to die, as he had ever 
desired, in battle and in victory, he called the chaplain, 
and desired him to deliver what he supposed to be his 
dying remembrance to Lady Nelson: he then sent for 
Captain Louis on board from the Minotaur, that he might 
thank him personally for the great assistance which he had 
rendered to the Vanguard ; and, ever mindful of those 
who deserved to be his friends, appointed Captain Hardy 
from the brig to the command of his own ship, Captain 
Berry having to go home with the news of the victory.^ 
When the surgeon came in due time to examine his wound 
(for it was in vain to entreat him to let it be examined 
sooner), the most anxious silence prevailed; and the joy of 
the wounded men, and of the whole crew, when they heard 
that the hurt was merely superficial, gave Nelson deeper 

^ A kind of shot used to tear sails and rigging. It consists of 
bolts, nails, and other pieces of iron fastened together. 

^ Captain Berry went in the Leander, fifty guns, but unfortunately 
fell in with the Genereux, seventy-four guns, on the coast of Candia, 
and was captured after an obstinate defence. His despatches, how- 
ever, were thrown in good time into the sea. Copies of them had 
been sent overland. It is said that when Nelson and Captain 
Berry were presented at court, the king spoke of the loss of his right 
arm. " But not my right hand, please your Majesty," said the hero, 
*' as I have the honor of presenting Captain Berry. And besides, 
please your Majesty, I have never thought that a loss which the per- 
formance of my duty had occasioned." 



134 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

pleasure, than the unexpected assurance that his life was in 
no danger. The surgeon requested, and as far as he could, 
ordered him to remain quiet : but Nelson could not rest. 
He called for his secretary, Mr. Campbell, to write the de- 
spatches. Campbell had himself been wounded; and was 
so affected at the blind and suffering state of the Admiral, 
that he was unable to write. The chaplain was then sent 
for; but, before he came, Nelson, with his characteristic 
eagerness, took the pen, and contrived to trace a few words, 
marking his devout sense of the success which had already- 
been obtained. He was now left alone; when suddenly a 
cry was heard on the deck, that the Orient was on fire. In 
the confusion, he found his way up, unassisted and unno- 
ticed,^ and, to the astonishment of every one, appeared on 
the quarter-deck, where he immediately gave orders that 
boats should be sent to the relief of the enemy. 

It was soon after nine that the fire on board the Orient 
broke out. Brueys was dead: he had received three 
wounds, yet would not leave his post: a fourth cut him 
almost in two. He desired not to be carried below, but to 
be left to die upon deck. The flames soon mastered his 
ship. Her sides had just been painted; and the oil-jars 
and paint-buckets were lying on the poop. By the pro- 
digious light of this conflagration, the situation of the two 
fleets could now be perceived, the colours of both being 
clearly distinguishable. About ten o'clock the ship blew 
up, with a shock which was felt to the very bottom of every 
vessel. 

Many of her officers and men jumped overboard, some 
clinging to the spars and pieces of wreck, with which the 
sea was strewn, others swimming to escape from the de- 
struction which they momentarily dreaded. Some were 
picked up by our boats; and some, even in the heat and 
fury of the action, were dragged into the lower ports of 
the nearest British vessel by the British sailors. The 
greater part of her crew, however, stood the danger till the 
last, and continued to fire from the lower deck. This 
tremendous explosion was followed by a silence not less 
awful: the firing immediately ceased on both sides; and 
the first sound which broke the silence was the dash of her 

^ Lady Berry denied the truth of this. According to her, Cap- 
tain Berry led him up to witness the fire. 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 135 

shattered masts and yards^ falling into the water from tlie 
vast height to which they had been exploded. It is upon 
record, that a battle between two armies was once broken 
oif by an earthquake : such an event would be felt like a 
miracle; but no incident in war, produced by human 
means, has ever equalled the sublimity of this co-instanta- 
neous pause, and all its circumstances. 

About seventy of the Orienfs crew were saved by the 
English boats. Among the many hundreds who perished 
were the Commodore, Casa-Bianca,^ and his son, a brave 
boy, only ten years old. They were seen floating on a 
shattered mast when the ship blew up. She had money 
on board (the plunder of Malta) to the amount of 600,- 
000/. sterling. The masses of burning wreck, which were 
scattered by the explosion, excited for some moments ap- 
prehensions in the English which they had never felt from 
any other danger. Two large pieces fell into the main 
and fore tops of the 8tviftsure, without injuring any 
person. A port-fire ^ also fell into the main-royal of the 
Alexander: the fire which it occasioned was speedily ex- 
tinguished. Captain Ball had provided, as far as human 
foresight could provide, against any such danger. All the 
shrouds and sails of his ship, not absolutely necessary for 
its immediate management, were throughly wetted, and 
so rolled up, that they were as hard and as little inflam- 
mable as so many solid cylinders. 

The firing recommenced with the ships to leeward of 
the centre, and continued till about three. At daybreak, 
the Ouillaume Tell, and the Qenereim, the two rear ships 
of the enemy, were the only French ships of the line 
which had their colours flying; they cut their cables in the 
forenoon, not having been engaged, and stood out to sea, 
and two frigates with them.^ The Zealous pursued; but 

^ Casa-Bianca was Admiral Brueys' chief-of-staif. Probably both 
he and his son were below when the ship blew up. An eye-witness 
testifies to the heroic behaviour of the little boy. See Mrs. Hemans's 
poem. Clark Russell tells us that the "fabric of L' Orient is 
still, it is said, to be seen peacefully resting in green and sandy 
repose under the glass-clear surface of the water of Aboukir 
Bay." 

^ A tube full of inflammable matter used instead of a match to 
fire guns. 

^ See pages 187 and 188. 



136 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

as there was no otlier ship in a condition to support Cap- 
tain Hood, he was recalled. It was generally believed by 
the officers, that if Nelson had not been wounded, not 
one of these ships could have escaped: the four certainly 
could not, if the Cidlodeyi had got into action; and if the 
frigates belonging to the squadron had been present, not 
one of the enemy's fleet would have left Aboukir Bay. 
These four vessels, however, were all that escaped; and the 
victory was the most complete and glorious in the annals 
of naval history. ' ' Yictory, ' ' said Nelson, ^ ^ is not a name 
strong enough for such a scene; " he called it a conquest. 
Of thirteen sail of the line, nine were taken, and two 
burnt: of the four frigates, one was sunk, another, the 
Artemise, was burnt in a villanous manner by her captain, 
M. Estandlet, who, having fired a broadside at the The- 
seus, struck his colours, then set fire to the ship, and 
escaped with most of his crew to shore. The British loss, 
in killed and wounded, amounted to 895. Westcott was 
the only captain who fell: 3,105 of the French, including 
the wounded, were sent on shore by cartel, and 5,225 
perished. 

As soon as the conquest was completed, Nelson sent 
orders through the fleet, to return thanksgiving in every 
ship for the victory with which Almighty God had blessed 
his Majesty's arms. The French at Eosetta, who with 
miserable fear beheld the engagement, were at a loss to 
understand the stillness of the fleet during the perform- 
ance of this solemn duty; but it seemed to affect many of 
the prisoners, officers as well as men: and graceless and 
godless as the officers were,^ some of them remarked, that 
it was no wonder such order was preserved in the British 
navy, when the minds of our men could be impressed with 
such sentiments after so great a victory, and at a moment 
of such confusion. — The French at Eosetta, seeing their 
four ships sail out of the bay unmolested, endeavoured to 
persuade themselves that they were in possession of the 
place of battle. But it was in vain thus to attempt, against 
their own secret and certain conviction, to deceive them- 

^ At one time during the Revolution in France, the Christian 
religion was officially proscribed ; the Goddess of Reason, in the 
form of an actress, worshipped in the Cathedral of Notre Dame ; 
Sunday abolished ; and the guillotine substituted for the cross. 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 137 

selves : and even if tliey could have succeeded in this, the 
bonfires which the Arabs kindled along the whole coast, 
and over the country, for the three following nights, would 
soon have undeceived them. Thousands of Arabs and 
Egyptians lined the shore, and covered the house-tops 
during the action, rejoicing in the destruction which had 
overtaken their invaders. Long after the battle, innu- 
merable bodies were seen floating about the bay, in spite 
of all the exertions which were made to sink them, as well 
from fear of pestilence, as from the loathing and horror 
which the sight occasioned. Great numbers were cast up 
upon the Island of Bekier (Nelson's Island, it has since been 
called), and our sailors raised mounds of sand over them. 
/Even after an interval of nearly three years Dr. Clarke 
/ saw them, and assisted in interring heaps of human bodies, 
which, having been thrown up by the sea, where there 
were no jackals to devour them, presented a sight loath- 
some to humanity. The shore, for an extent of four 
leagues, was covered with wreck; and the Arabs found 
employment for many days in burning on the beach the 
fragments which were cast up, for the sake of the iron.* 
Part of the Orienfs main-mast was picked up by the 
Swift sure.'^ Captain Hallowell ordered his carpenter to 
make a coffin of it; the iron as well as wood was taken 
from the wreck of the same ship ; it was finished as well 
and handsomely as the workman's skill anc|. materials 
would permit; and Hallowell then sent it to the Admiral 
with the following letter, — " Sir, I have taken the liberty 
of presenting you a coffin made from the main-mast of 
L'' Orient, that when you have finished your military career 
in this world, you may be buried in one of your trophies. 
But that that period may be far distant, is the earnest wish 

* During his long subsequent cruise off Alexandria, Captain Hal- 
lowell kept his crew employed and amused in fishing up the small 
anchors in the road, which, with the iron found on the masts, was 
afterwards sold at Rhodes, and the produce applied to purchase vege- 
tables and tobacco for the ship's company. — Southey's Note. 

^ " Did every British warship have a ship's colour or battle flag on 
which to record its war services, as every regiment has its regimental 
colour to bear an emblazoned record of the battles in which the regi- 
ment has taken part, our present Swiftsure's ensign would show not 
only more battle honours than any regimental colours of any Army 
can, but also bear more names than a Hohenzollern or Hapsburg 



138 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

of your sincere friend, Benjamin Hallowell." ^ An offer- 
ing so strange, and yet so suited to the occasion, was re- 
ceived by Nelson in the spirit with which it was sent. As 
he felt it good for him, now that he was at the summit of 
his wishes, to have death before his eyes, he ordered the 
cofhn to be placed upright in his cabin. Such a piece of 
furniture, however, was more suitable to his own feelings 
than to those of his guests and attendants; and an old fa- 
vourite servant entreated him so earnestly to let it be re- 
moved, that at length he consented to have the cofhn car- 
ried below: but he gave strict orders that it should be 
safely stowed, and reserved for the purpose for which its 
brave and worthy donor had designed it. 

The victory was complete; but Nelson could not pursue 
it as he would have done, for want of means. Had he 
been provided with small craft, nothing could have pre- 
vented the destruction of the store-ships and transports in 
the port of Alexandria : — four bomb-vessels would at that 
time have burnt the whole in a few hours. "Were I to 
die this moment," said he in his despatches to the Admi- 
ralty, ^' luant of frigates would be found stamped on my 

shield bears heraldic quarterings. Omitting several minor actions 
it would read something like this : 

Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588. 

Capture of Cadiz, 1596. 

West Indies, 1654 (Penn's flag-ship). 

Santa Cruz, 1656 (Blake's flag-ship). 

Battle of Lowestoft, 1665 (flag-ship). 

Battle of June 1 to 3, 1666. 

Prince Rupert's three battles with De Ruyter, 1673. 

Victory over the French off La Hogue, 1692. 

Battle of Vigo Bay, 1703. 

Capture of Gibraltar, 1704. 

Rooke's battle off Malaga, 1704. 

Bosco wen's victory at Lagos, 1759. 

Hawke's victory in Quiberon Bay, 1759. 

Battle of the Nile, 1798. 

Calder's battle off Ferrol, 1805 (see p. 367). 

Trafalgar, 1805." — Commander Robinson, The British Fleet, p. 
192. 

^ Perhaps it is worth while to remark in passing that, owing to the 
location of the battle, this strange gift may have been suggested to 
the mind of Captain Hallowell by the ancient Egyptian custom of 
bringing mummies into their feasts to remind them of the short- 
ness of the period during which they could eat, drink, and be 
merry. 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 139 

heart ! ^ No words of mine can express what I have suf- 
fered, and am sufferings for want of them." He had also 
to bear up against great bodily suffering; the blow had so 
shaken his head, that from its constant and violent aching, 
and the perpetual sickness which accompanied the pain, 
he could scarcely persuade himself that the skull was not 
fractured. Had it not been for Troubridge, Ball, Hood, and 
Hallowell, he declared that he should have sunk under the 
fatigue of refitting the squadron. "All," he said, "had 
done well; but these officers were his sui^porters. " But, 
amidst his sufferings and exertions, IN^elson could yet think 
of all the consequences of his victory; and that no advan- 
tage from it might be lost, he despatched an officer overland 
to India, with letters to the Governor of Bombay, informing 
him of the arrival of the French in Egypt, the total de- 
struction of their fleet, and the consequent preservation of 
India from any attempt against it on the part of this for- 
midable armament. " He knew that Bombay," he said, 
"was their first object, if they could get there ;^ but he 
trusted that Almighty God would overthrow in Egypt these 
pests of the human race. Buonaparte had never yet had to 
contend Avith an English officer, and he would endeavour 
to make him respect us." This despatch he sent upon 
his own responsibility, with letters of credit^ upon the 
East India Company, addressed to the British consuls, 
vice-consuls, and merchants on his route; Nelson saying, 
" that if he had done wrong, he hoped the bills would be 
paid, and he would repay the Company : for, as an Eng- 
lishman, he should be proud that it had been in his power 
to put our settlements on their guard." The information 

i " Italy, my Italy ! 

Queen Mary's saying serves for me 
(When fortune's malice 
Lost her Calais) : 
Open my heart, and you will see 
Graved inside of it ' Italy.' " 

—Browning, De Gustibus, ii. 

^ How did the French intend to get to India ? 

^ The ordinary letter of credit is a letter issued by a financial house 
to a traveUer. It enables the traveller to obtain such funds as he 
may desire up to the value of the letter by presenting it as occasion 
may demand to the correspondents of the house. Being payable 
only to the person named in it, it is useless to any other unless direct 
forgery is attempted, and this is seldom done. How did Nelson's 
letter differ from such a letter ? 



140 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

which, by this means reached India was of great impor- 
tance. Orders had just been received for defensive pre- 
parations, upon a scale proportionate to the apprehended 
danger; and the extraordinary expenses Avhich would other- 
wise have been incurred were thus prevented, 
z-— Nelson was now at the summit of glory: congratula- 
tions, rewards, and honours were showered upon him by 
all the states, and princes, and powers to whom his vic- 
tory gave a respite. The first communication of this 
nature which he received was from the Turkish Sultan: 
who, as soon as the invasion of Egypt was known, had 
called upon "all true believers to take arms against those 
swinish infidels the French, that they might deliver these 
blessed habitations from their accursed hands; " and who 
had ordered his "Pashas to turn night into day in their 
efforts to take vengeance. " The present of " his Imperial 
Majesty, the powerful, formidable, and most magnificent 
Grand Seignior," was a pelisse of sables, with broad 
sleeves, valued at five thousand dollars; and a diamond 
aigrette, valued at eighteen thousand — the most honourable 
badge among the Turks; and in this instance more espe- 
cially honourable, because it was taken from one of the 
royal turbans. "If it were worth a million," said J^elson 
to his wife, ' ^ my pleasure would be to see it in your posses- 
sion." The Sultan also sent, in a spirit worthy of imita- 
tion, a purse of two thousand sequins,^ to be distributed 
among the wounded. The mother of the Sultan sent him 
a box, set with diamonds, valued at one thousand pounds. 
The Czar Paul, in whom the better part of his strangely 
compounded nature at this time predominated, presented 
him with his portrait, set in diamonds, in a gold box, ac- 
companied with a letter of congratulation, written by his 
own hand. The King of Sardinia also wrote to him, and 
sent a gold box, set with diamonds. Honours in profusion 
were awaiting him at JSTaples. In his own country the king 
granted these honourable augmentations to his armorial 
ensign : ^ a chief undulated, argent; thereon waves of the 

^ A sequin is nearly equivalent to $1.81. 

^ The chief {L. Caput, head) is the upper part of the shield, or 
escutcheon ; undulated means marked in the edge with a waving 
line ; argent signifies silver. Upon the chief, which is divided into 
three parts, dexter, middle, and sinister, there appeared in the mid- 
dle a palm tree, emblematic of victory, with a ruined battery on the 



1798] THE LIFE OF IiELSOJ\ 141 

sea; from which a palm-tree issaant^ between a disabled 
ship on the dextei% and a ruinous battery on the sinister^ 
all 2^7'oper ; and for his crest, on a naval crown, or, the 
chelengk, or plumC;, presented to him by the Turk, with 
the motto, Palmam qui meruit fer at. "^ And to his sup- 
porters, being a sailor on the dexter, and a lion on the 
sinister, were given these honourable augmentations: a 
palm-branch in the sailor's hand, and another in the paw 
of the lion, both jprojj^er ; with a tri-coloured flag and staff 
in the lion's mouth. He was created Baron Nelson of the 
Mle and of Burnham Thorpe, with a pension of 2000/. for 
his own life, and those of his two immediate successors. 
When the grant was moved in the House of Commons, 
General Walpole expressed an opinion, that a higher de- 
gree of rank ought to be conferred. Mr. Pitt made 
answer, that he thought it needless to enter into that 
question. " Admiral Nelson's fame," he said, "^ would be 
co-equal with the British name : and it would be remem- 
bered that he had obtained the greatest naval victory on 
record, when no man would think of asking whether he 
had been created a baron, a viscount, or an earl! " It was 
strange that, in the very act of conferring a title, the min- 
ister should have excused himself for not having conferred 
a higher one, by representing all titles, on such an occasion, 
as nugatory and superfluous. True, indeed, whatever title 
had been bestowed, whether viscount, earl, marquis, duke, 
or prince, if our laws had so permitted, he who received it 

left, and a disabled ship on the right, as being reminiscences of the 
battle of the Nile ; all these were 'proper, that is, of their natural 
(own) color. The cred is an appendage to the escutcheon placed 
above it and fastened by a wreath ; Nelson's was of gold, or. The 
naval crown signified that he had been victorious in those seas where 
the Romans first conferred the corona navalis. Supporters are fig- 
ures on either side of the escutcheon and exterior to it. The palm- 
branch was a continuation of the palm-branch in the chief and an 
allusion to the motto. The tri-colored flag was the flag of the sub- 
dued foe. 

* It has been erroneously said that the motto was selected by the 
king : — it was fixed on by Lord Grenville, and taken from an ode of 
Jortin's. The application was singularly fortunate ; and tlie ode itself 
breathes a spirit, in which no man ever more truly sympathised than 
Nelson : 

Concurrant paribus cum ratibus rates, 
Spectent numina ponti, et 
Palmam qui meruit fevat.—jSouihei/s Note, 



142 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

would have been Nelson still. That name he had en- 
nobled beyond all addition of nobility: it was the name by 
which England loved him^ France feared him^ Italy, 
Egypt, and Turkey celebrated him; and by which he will 
continue to be known while the present kingdoms and 
languages of the world endure, and as long as their history 
after them shall be held in remembrance. It depended 
upon the degree of rank what should be the fashion of his 
coronet, in what page of the red book his name was to be 
inserted, and what precedency should be allowed his lady 
in the drawing-room and at the ball. That Nelson's hon- 
ours were affected thus far, and no farther, might be con- 
ceded to Mr. Pitt and his colleagues in administration : but 
the degree of rank which they thought proper to allot was 
the measure of their gratitude,* though not of his services. 
This Nelson felt; and this he expressed, with indignation, 
among his friends. 

Whatever may have been the motives of the ministry, 
and. whatever the formalities with which they excused their 
conduct to themselves, the importance and magnitude of 
the victory were universally acknowledged.^ A grant of 

* Mr. Windham must be excepted from this well-deserved censure. 
He, whose fate it seems to have been almost always to think and feel 
more generously than those with whom he acted, declared, when he 
contended against his own party for Lord Wehington's peerage, that 
he always thought Lord Nelson had been inadequately rewarded. 
The case was the more flagrant, because an earldom had so lately 
been granted for the battle of St. Vincent ; an action which could 
never be compared with the battle of the Nile, if the very difl;erent 
manner in which it was rewarded did not necessarily force a com- 
parison ; especially when the part which Nelson bore in it was con- 
sidered. — Lords Duncan and St. Vincent had each a pension of 
£1000 from the Irish government. This was not granted to Nelson, 
in consequence of the Union ; though, surely, it would be more be- 
coming to increase the British grant, than to save a thousand a year 
by the Union in such cases. — Southey's Note. 

Is it possible that Nelson's years, he being only forty while St. 
Vincent was sixty-two, influenced the government in its award ? 

^ When Napoleon heard the news of Aboukir he exclaimed : " To 
France the fates have decreed the empire of the land — to England, 
that of the sea." " It was this battle," says Jurien de la Graviere, 
' ' which for two years delivered up the Mediterranean to the power 
of England ; . . . left the French army isolated among a hostile 
population ; decided the Porte in declaring against it ; saved India 
from French enterprise ; and brought France to the brink of ruin by 
reviving the smouldering flames of war with Austria, and bringing 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 143 

10,000/. was voted to Nelson by the East India Company; 
the Turkish Company presented him with a piece of plate; 
the City of London presented a sword to him, and to each 
of his captains; gold medals were distributed to the Cap- 
tains; and the First Lieutenants of all the ships were 
promoted, as had been done after Lord Howe's victory. 
Nelson Avas exceedingly anxious that the Captain and First 
Lieutenant of the Culloden should not be passed over 
because of their misfortune. To Troubridge himself he 
said, ''Let us rejoice that the ship which got on shore 
was commanded by an officer whose character is so thor- 
oughly established." To the Admiralty he stated, that 
Captain Troubridge's conduct was as fully entitled to praise 
as that of any one officer in the squadron, and as highly 
deserving of reward. " It was Troubridge," said he, '' who 
equipped the squadron so soon at Syracuse: it was Trou- 
bridge who exerted himself for me after the action : it was 
Troubridge who saved the Culloden, when none that I 
know in the service would have attempted it." The gold 
medal, therefore, by the king's express desire, was given 
to Captain Troubridge, "for his services both before and 
since, and for the great and Avonderful exertion which 
he made at the time of the action, in saving and getting 
off his ship." The private letter from the Admiralty to 
Nelson informed him, that the First Lieutenants of all the 
ships engaged were to be promoted. Nelson instantly wrote 
to the Commander-in-Chief. "I sincerely hope, " said he, 
"this is not intended to exclude the First Lieutenant of 
the Culloden. For Heaven's sake — for my sake — if it be 
so, get it altered. Our dear friend Troubridge has en- 
dured enough. His sufferings were, in every respect, 
more than any of us." To the Admiralty he wrote in 
terms equally warm. "I hope, and believe, the word en- 
gaged is not intended to exclude the Culloden. The merit 
of that ship, and her gallant captain, are too well known 
to benefit by anything I could say. Her misfortune was 
great in getting aground, while her more fortunate com- 
panions were in the full tide of happiness. No; I am confi- 

Suwarrow and the Anstro-Russians to the French frontiers." — Guerres 
Maritimes, i., p. 229, quoted by Mahan. There are some interest- 
ing comments on the Battle of the Nile by James Fenimore Cooper, 
in his Preface to The Two Admirals. 



144 THE LIFE OF NELSQN [1798 

dent tliat my good Lord Spencer will never add misery to 
misfortune. Captain Troubridge on shore is superior to 
captains afloat: in the midst of his great misfortunes he 
made those signals which prevented certainly the Alex- 
ander and Siviftsure from running on the shoals. I beg 
your pardon for writing on a subject which, I verily believe, 
has never entered your lordship's head; but my heart, as 
it ought to be, is warm to my gallant friends. ' ' Thus feel- 
ingly alive was Nelson to the claims, and interests, and 
feelings of others. The Admiralty replied, that the excep- 
tion was necessary, as the ship had not been in action : but 
they desired the Commander-in-Chief to promote the Lieu- 
tenant upon the first vacancy which should occur. 

Nelson, in remembrance of an old and uninterrupted 
friendshijo, appointed Alexander Davison ^ sole prize-agent 
for the cajDtured ships : upon which Davison ordered med- 
als to be struck in gold, for the captains; in silver, for the 
lieutenants and warrant officers; in gilt metal, for petty 
officers; and in copper, for the seamen and marines. The 
cost of this act of liberality amounted to nearly 2000/. It 
is worthy of record on another account : — for some of the 
gallant men, who received no other honorary badge of their 
conduct on that memorable day, than this copper medal, 
from a private individual, years afterwards, when they died 
upon a foreign station, made it their last request, that the 
medals might carefully be sent home to their respective 
friends. So sensible are brave men of honour, in whatever 
rank they may be placed. 

Three of the frigates, whose presence would have been 
so essential a few weeks sooner, joined the squadron on the 
twelfth day after the action. The fourth joined a few 
days after them. Nelson thus received despatches, which 
rendered it necessary for him to return to Naples. Before 
he left Egypt he burnt three of the prizes: they could not 
have been fitted for a passage to Gibraltar in less than a 
month, and that at a great expense, and with the loss of 
the service of at least two sail of the line. "I rest as- 
sured, ' ' he said to the Admiralty, ' ' that they will be paid 
for, and have held out that assurance to the squadron. For 
if an admiral, after a victory, is to look after the captured 
ships, and not to the distressing of the enemy, very dearly 

' See p. 34. 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 145 

indeed must the nation pay for the prizes. I trust that 
60,000?. will be deemed a very moderate sum for them: 
and when the services, time, and men, with the expense of 
fitting the three ships for a voyage to England, are consid- 
ered. Government will save nearly as mnch as they are 
valued at. Paying for prizes," he continued, "is no new 
idea of mine, and would often prove an amazing saving to 
the state, even without taking into calculation what the 
nation loses by the attention of the admirals to the prop- 
erty of the captors; an attention absolutely necessary, as a 
recompense for the exertions of the officers ajid men. An 
admiral may be amply rewarded by his own feelings, and 
by the approbation of his superiors; but what reward have 
the inferior officers and men, but the value of the prizes ? 
If an admiral takes that from them, on any consideration, 
he cannot expect to be well-supported." To Earl St. Vin- 
cent he said, "If he could have been sure that Govern- 
ment would have paid a reasonable value for them, he 
would have ordered two of the other prizes to be burnt: 
for they would cost more in refitting, and by the loss of 
ships attending them, than they were worth." ^ 

Having sent the six remaining prizes forward, under 
Sir James Saumarez, Nelson left Captain Hood^ in the 
Zealous, off Alexandria, with the Sioiftsiire, Goliath, 
Alcmene, and Emerald, and stood out to sea himself on 
the seventeenth day after the battle.* 

^ In a letter to Lord Howe, Nelson used expressions concerning the 
battle of the Nile, about which Mr. J. K. Laughton speaks as fol- 
lows : " Nelson's reply is, however, most notable for its brief exposi- 
tion of the plan on which the battle was fought, an exposition sufh- 
cient in itself to demolish the popular theory that the chief charac- 
teristic of his genius was his courage ; that he won victories by the 
directness and impetuosity of his attack ; that his one .idea of tactics 
was ' to go at 'em ; ' and that fortune favored the brave. The more 
closely Nelson's acts and letters are studied, the more clearly will it 
be seen that the point on which his thoughts continually dwelt was 
not the mere ' going at 'em,' but the most advantageous way to ' go at 
'em ; ' and that, in every instance, the dash and impetuosity which 
caught the popular fancy were guided by genius, and controlled by 
prudence and foresight. On this occasion he wrote : ' By attacking 
the enemy's van and centre, the wind blowing directly along their 
line, I was enabled to throw what force I pleased on a few ships. ' " — 
Life of Nelson, p. 123. 

* "Some French officers, during the blockade of Alexandria, were 
sent off to Captain Hallowell to offer a supply of vegetables, and 

10 



146 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

observe, of course, the state of the blockading squadron. They were 
received with all possible civility. In the course of conversation, 
after dinner, one of them remarked that we had made use of unfair 
weapons during the action, by which probably the Orient was burnt ; 
and that General Buonaparte had expressed great indignation at it. 
In proof of this assertion he stated that in the late gunboat attacks, 
their camp had twice been set on fire by balls of unextinguishable 
matter which were fired from one of the English boats. Captain 
Hallowell instantly ordered the gunner to bring up some of those 
balls, and asked him from whence he had them. To the confusion of 
the accusers he related that they were found on board of the Spartiate, 
one of the ships captured on the 1st of August ; as these balls were 
distinguished by particular marks, though in other respects alike, the 
Captain ordered an experiment to be made, in order to ascertain the 
nature of them. The next morning, says Mr. Willyams, I accom- 
panied Mr. Parr, the gunner, to the island ; the first we tried proved 
to be a fire-ball, but of what materials composed we could not ascer- 
tain. As it did not explode (which at first we apprehended), we 
rolled it into the sea, where it continued to burn under water ; a 
black pitchy substance exuding from it till only an iron skeleton of 
a shell remained. The whole had been carefully crusted over with a 
substance that gave it the appearance of a perfect shell. On setting 
fire to the fusee of the other, which was differently marked, it burst 
into many pieces ; though somewhat alarmed, fortunately none of 
us were hurt. People account differently for the fire that happened 
on board of the French Admiral ; but why may it not have arisen 
from some of these fire-balls left, perhaps carelessly, on the poop or 
cabin, where it first broke out ? and what confirms my opinion on this 
head is, that several pieces of such shells were found sticking in the 
Letter ojpho7i, which she most probably received from the first fire of 
L' Orient." — Willyams's Voyages in the Mediterranean, p. 145. — 
Southey^s Note. 



CHAPTEK VI. 

Nelson returns to Naples — State of that Court and Kingdom — 
General Mack — The French approach Naples — Flight of the Royal 
Family — Successes of the Allies in Italy — Transactions in the Bay of 
Naples — Expulsion of the French from the Neapolitan and Roman 
States — Nelson is made Duke of Bronte — He leaves the Mediterra- 
nean and returns to England. 

Nelson^s health had suffered greatly while he was in 
the Agamemnon. "My complaint/' he said, "is as if a 
girth were buckled taut over my breast; and my endeav- 
our in the night is to get it loose." After the battle of 
Cape St. Vincent, he felt a little rest to be so essential to 
his recovery, that he declared he would not continue to 
serve longer than the ensuing summer, unless it should be 
absolutely necessary; for, in his own strong language, he 
had then been four years and nine months without one 
moment's rej^ose for body or mind. A few months' inter- 
mission of labour he had obtained — not of rest, for it was 
purchased with the loss of a limb ; and the greater part of 
the time had been a season of constant pain. As soon as 
his shattered frame had sufficiently recovered for him to 
resume his duties, he was called to services of greater im- 
portance than any on which he had hitherto been employed, 
and they brought with them commensurate fatigue and 
care. The anxiety which he endured during his long pur- 
suit of the enemy was rather changed in its direction, than 
abated, by their defeat : and this constant wakefulness of 
thought, added to the effect of his wound, and the exer- 
tions from which it was not possible for one of so ardent 
and wide-reaching a mind to spare himself, nearly proved 
fatal. On his way back to Italy he was seized with fever. 
For eighteen hours his life was despaired of; and even 
when the disorder took a favourable turn, and he was so 
far recovered as again to appear on deck, he himself 
thought that his end was approaching, — such was the 



148 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

weakness to wliicli the fever and congli had reduced him. 
Writing to Earl St. Vincent^ on the passage, he said to 
him, ^^- 1 never expect, my dear lord, to see your face 
again. It may please God that this will be the finish 
to that fever of anxiety which I have endured from the 
middle of June; but be that as it pleases His goodness. I 
am resigned to His will. ' ' 

The kindest attentions of the warmest friendship were 
awaiting him at Naples. '^Come here," said Sir William 
Hamilton, '' for God's sake,Sny dear friend, as soon as the 
service will permit you. A pleasant apartment is ready for 
you in my house, and Emma is looking out for the softest 
pillows, to repose the few wearied limbs you have left." 
Happy would it have been for Nelson if warm and careful 
friendship had been all that awaited him there ! He him- 
self saw at that time the character of the Neapolitan court, 
as it first struck an Englishman, in its true light; and 
when he was on the way, he declared that he detested the 
voyage to Naples, and that nothing but necessity could have 
forced him to it. But never was any hero, on his return 
from victory, welcomed with more heartfelt joy. Before 
the battle of Aboukir the court of Naples had been trem- 
bling for its existence. The language which the Directory ^ 
held towards it was well described by Sir William Hamil- 
ton, as being exactly the language of a highwayman. The 
Neapolitans were told, that Benevento ^ might be added to 
their dominions, provided they would pay a large sum, 
sufficient to satisfy the Directory; and they were warned, 
that if the proposal were refused, or even if there were any 
delay in accepting it, the French would revolutionise all 
Italy. The joy, therefore, of the court at Nelson's success 
was in proportion to the dismay from Avhich that success 
relieved them. The Queen was a daughter of Maria The- 
resa,^ and sister of Marie Antoinette. Had she been the 

^ See p. 89, note 3. 

2 Benevento belonged to the Pope, to whom it was restored after 
the battle of Waterloo. 

^ Maria Theresa should be studied from the noble pages of Maeau- 
lay's essay on Frederic the Great ; and Marie Antoinette ought 
always to be associated with the great words of Burke : "It is now 
sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then the 
Dauphiness, at Versailles ; and surely never lighted on this orb, 
which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON I49 

wisest and gentlest of her sex^ it would not have been pos- 
sible for her to have regarded the French without hatred 
and horro]': and the progress of revolutionary opinions, 
while it perpetually reminded her of her sister's fate, ex- 
cited no unreasonable apprehensions for her own. Her 
feelings, naturally ardent, and little accustomed to re- 
straint, were excited to the highest pitch when the news 
of the victory arrived. Lady Hamilton, her constant 
friend and favourite, who was present, says, "It is not 
possible to describe her transports: she wept, she kissed 
her husband, her children, walked frantically about the 
room, burst into tears again, and again kissed and em- 
braced every person near her; exclaiming, '0 brave Nel- 
son! God! bless and protect our brave deliverer! 
Nelson! Nelson! what do we not owe you! conqueror — 
saviour of Italy! that my swoln heart could now tell 
him personally what we owe to him ! ' " She wrote to the 
Neapolitan ambassador at London upon the occasion in 
terms which show the fulness of her joy, and the height 
of the hopes which it had excited. "I wish I could give 
wings/' said she, "to the bearer of the news, and, at the 
same time, to our most sincere gratitude. The whole of 
the sea-coast of Italy is saved; and this is owing alone to 
the generous English. This battle, or, to speak more 
correctly, this total defeat, of the regicide squadron, was 
obtained by the valour of this brave Admiral, seconded by 
a navy which is the terror of its enemies. The victory is 

her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated 
sphere she just began to move in, — glittering like the morning star 
full of life and splendor and joy. . . . Little did I dream that I 
should have lived to see such disasters fallen upon her in a nation of 
gallant men, — in a nation of men of honour and of cavaliers. I 
thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards 
to avenge even a look that threatened her with insult. But the age 
of chivalry is gone ; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators 
has succeeded ; and the glory of Europe is extinguished forever. 
Never, never more shall we behold that generous loyalty to rank and 
sex, that proud submission, that dignified obedience, that subordina- 
tion of the heart which kept alive, even in servitude itself, the spirit 
of an exalted freedom. The unbought grace of life, the cheap de- 
fence of nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise is 
gone ! It is gone that sensibility of principle, that chastity of honour, 
which felt a stain like a wound, which inspired courage whilst it 
mitigated ferocity, which ennobled whatever it touched, and under 
which vice itself lost half its evil by losing all its grossness." 



150 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

so complete, that I can still scarcely believe it : and if it 
were not the brave English nation, which is accustomed to 
perform prodigies by sea, I could not persuade myself that 
it had happened. It would have moved you to have seen 
all my children, boys and girls, hanging on my neck and 
crying for joy at the happy news. — Recommend the hero 
to his master : he has filled the whole of Italy with admira- 
tion of the English. Great hopes were entertained of some 
advantages being gained by his bravery, but no one could 
look for so total a destruction. All here are drunk with 
joy." 

Such being the feelings of the royal family, it may well 
be supposed with what delight, and with what honours. 
Nelson would be welcomed. Early on the 22d of Septem- 
ber the poor, wretched Vanguard, as he called his shat- 
tered vessel, appeared in sight of Naples. The Culloden 
and Alexander had preceded her by some days, and given 
notice of her approach. Many hundred boats and barges 
were ready to go forth and meet him, with music and 
streamers, and every demonstration of joy and triumph. 
Sir William and Lady Hamilton led the way in their state 
barge. They had seen Nelson only for a few days four 
years ago, but they then perceived in him that heroic spirit 
which was now so fully and gloriously manifested to the 
world. Emma Lady Hamilton,^ who from this time so 
greatly influenced his future life, was a woman whose per- 
sonal accomplishments have seldom been equalled, and 
whose powers of mind were not less fascinating than her 
person. She was passionately attached to the Queen : and 
by her influence the British fleet had obtained those sup- 
plies at Syracuse, without Avhich, Nelson always asserted, 
the battle of Aboukir could not have been fought. Dur- 
ing the long interval which passed before any tidings were 
received, her anxiety had been hardly less than that of 
Nelson himself, while pursuing an enemy of whom he 
could obtain no information: and when the tidings were 
brought her by a joyful bearer, open-mouthed, its effect 
was such, that she fell like one who had been shot. She 
and Sir William had literally been made ill by their hopes 
and fears, and joy at a catastrophe so far exceeding all 
that they had dared to hope for. Their admiration for the 

^ See p. 55. 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 151 

hero necessarily produced a degree of jDroportionate grati- 
tude and affection; and when their barge came alongside 
the Vanguard, at the sight of Nelson, Lady Hamilton 
sprang up the ship's side, and exclaiming, " God! is it 
possible! " fell into his arms, more, he says, like one dead 
than alive. He described the meeting as " terribly affect- 
ing. "^ These friends had scarcely recovered from their 
tears, when the King, who went out to meet him three 
leagues in the royal barge, came on board and took him by 
the hand, calling him his deliverer and preserver; from 
all the boats around he was saluted with the same appella- 
tions; the multitude who surrounded him when he landed, 
repeated the same enthusiastic cries; and the lazzaroni^ 
displayed their joy by holding up birds in cages, and 
giving them their liberty as he passed. 

His birthday, which occurred a week after his arrival, 
was celebrated with one of the most splendid fetes ever 
beheld at Naples.^ But, notwithstanding the splendour 
with which he was encircled, and the flattering honours 
with which all ranks welcomed him, Nelson was fully sen- 
sible of the depravity, as well as weakness, of those by 
whom he was surrounded. '' What precious moments," 
said he, ^'the courts of Naples and Vienna are losing! 
Three months would liberate Italy! but this court is so 
enervated, that the happy moment will be lost. I am very 
unwell ; and their miserable conduct is not likely to cool 
my irritable temper. It is a country of fiddlers and poets, 
whores and scoundrels. " "^ This sense of their ruinous 

^ Was this acting- on Lady Hamilton's part, or was it real emotion? 

'•^ The lazzaroni are the beggars of Naples, being so called from the 
hospital of St. Lazarus, which is located there, and is their natural 
refuge. 

^ This celebration cost Sir William Hamilton about 2,000 ducats 

($3,000). He entertained 1,800 people. Endless songs and sonnets 

were composed in the hero's honor ; he was saluted with the motto 

'* Yeiii, Vidi, Vici ;" and to crown alia new stanza of "God Save 

the King " was written by Miss Knight in his honor : 

" Join we great Nelson's name 
First on the rolls of Fame, 

Him let us sing. 
Spread we his fame around. 
Honour of British ground, 
Who made Nile's shores resound, 

God save the king." 

^ Lady Hamilton indicated the Neapolitan gentry who came on 
board Nelson's ship for a banquet on one occasion, and told a promi- 



152 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

weakness "he always retained; nor was lie ever blind to tlie 
mingled folly and treachery of the Neapolitan ministers, 
and the complication of iniqnities under which the country 
groaned: but he insensibly, under the influence of Lady 
Hamilton, formed an affection for the court, to whose mis- 
government the miserable condition of the country was 
so greatly to be imputed. 

By the kindness of her nature, as well as by her attrac- 
tions, she had won his heart. Earl St. Vincent, writing 
to her at this time, says, " Ten thousand most grateful 
thanks are due to your ladyship for restoring the health of 
our invaluable friend, on whose life the fate of the remain- 
ing governments of Europe, whose system has not been 
deranged by these devils, depends. Pray do not let your 
fascinating Neapolitan dames ajDproach too near him, for 
he is made of flesh and blood, and cannot resist their 
temptations." But this was addressed to the very person 
from whom he was in danger. 

The state of Naples may be described in few words. 
The King was one of the Spanish Bourbons. ^ As the Cae- 
sars have shown us to what wickedness the moral nature 
of princes may be perverted, so in this family the degra- 
dation to which their intellectual nature can be reduced has 
been not less conspicuously evinced. Ferdinand, like the 
rest of his race, was passionately fond of field-sports,* and 
cared for nothing else. His queen had all tlie vices of 

nent officer who sat near her that in all the company there was not 
\ a woman who was virtuous or a man who did not deserve the gal- 
Uows. — Lady Hamiltori's llemoirs, p. 163. 

^ Ferdinand IV. was a son of Charles HI. of Spain and a grandson 
of Louis XIV. of France. He was King of Naples and Sicily from 
1759 to 1806, when he was dispossessed of Naples by Bonaparte, who 
made his own brother J oseph King. After the fall of Napoleon, Ferdi- 
nand recovered Naples, united the two kingdoms, and assumed the 
title of Ferdinand I., King of the Two Sicilies. He died in 1825. 

* Sir William Hamilton's letters give the history of one of this 
sovereign's campaigns against the wolves and boars. "Our first 
chase has not succeeded ; the king would direct how we should beat 
the wood, and began at the wrong end, by which the wolves and 
boars escaped. The king's face is very long at this moment, but I 
dare say to-morrow's good sport will shorten it again." — " No sport 
again ! He has no other comfort to-day, than having killed a wild 
cat, and his face is a yard long. However, his Majesty has vowed 
vengeance on the boars to-morrow, and will go according to his own 
fancy ; and I dare say there will be a terrible slaughter." — "To-day 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 153 

the house of Austria, with little to mitigate, and nothing 
to ennoble them : — provided she could have her pleasures, 
and the King his sports, they cared not in what manner the 
revenue was raised or administered. Of course a system 
of favouritism existed at court, and the vilest and most 
impudent corruption prevailed in every department of 
state, and in every branch of administration, from the 
highest to the lowest. It is only the institutions of Chris- 
tianity, and the vicinity of better-regulated states, which 
prevent kingdoms, under such circumstances of misrule, 
from sinking into a barbarism like that of Turkey. A 
sense of better things was kept alive in some of the Nea- 
politans by literature, and by their intercourse with happier 
countries. These persons naturally looked to France, at 
the commencement of the revolution; and, during all the 
horrors of that revolution, still cherished a hope, that, by 

has been so thoroughly bad that we have not been able to stir out, 
and the King, of course, is in bad humor." — " The King has killed 
twenty-one boars to-day, and is quite happy." — "We have had a 
miserable cold day, but good sport. I killed two boars and a doe ; 
the king nineteen boars, two does, and a porcupine. He is happy 
beyond expression." — "Only think of his not being satisfied with 
killing more than thirty yesterday ! He said, if the wind had 
favored him, he should have killed sixty at least." — " The king has 
killed eighty-one animals of one sort or other to-day, and amongst 
them a wolf and some stags. He fell asleep in the coach ; and, 
waking, told me he had been dreaming of shooting. One would 
have thought he had shed blood enough." — " It is a long-faced day 
with the King. We went far ; the weather was bad ; and after all, 
met with little or no game. Yesterday, when we brought home all 
we killed, it filled the house completely, and to-day they are obliged 
to whitewash the walls to take away the blood. There were more 
than four hundred boars, deer, stags, and all. To-morrow we are 
to have another slaughter ; and not a word of reason or common- 
sense do I meet with the whole day, till I retire to my volumes of the 
old Gentleman'' s Magazine, which Just keeps my mind from starv- 
ing." — Southey^s Note. 

In spite of these expressions of disgust there is ample evidence 
that the Neapolitan looseness and immorality affected Sir William 
Hamilton's views in a manner most deleterious to his efficiency as a 
British ambassador. He seems from his letters to have lived on the 
principle of " Bibamus et manducemus, nam eras moriemur." 
The sufferings of the people, the corruption of morals, and the 
threatened tidal wave of French Jacobinism seem to have caused him 
no distress or apprehension ; but he was wont to complain like a 
querulous child if the hunting was bad and rave hysterically at the 
discovery of a Roman vase. 



154 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

the aid of France, they might be enabled to establish a 
new order of things in Naples. They were grievously mis- 
taken in supposing that the principles of liberty would 
ever be supported by France, but they were not mistaken 
in believing that no government could be worse than their 
own; and, therefore, they considered any change as desir- 
able. In this opinion men of the most different characters 
agreed. Many of the nobles, who were not in favour, 
wished for a revolution, that they might obtain the ascend- 
ancy to which they thought themselves entitled : men of 
desperate fortunes desired it, in the hope of enriching 
themselves; knaves and intriguers sold themselves to the 
French, to promote it ; and a few enlightened men, and true 
lovers of their country, joined in the same cause, from the 
purest and noblest motives. All these were confounded 
under the common name of Jacobins; and the Jacobins of 
the Continental kingdoms were regarded by the English 
with more hatred than they deserved. They were classed 
with Philippe Egalite, Marat, and Hebert; — whereas they 
deserved rather to be ranked, if not with Locke, and 
Sydney, and Kussell, at least with Argyle and Monmouth, 
and those who, having the same object as the prime movers 
of our own revolution, failed in their premature, but not 
unworthy attempt. ^ 

ISTo circumstances could be more unfavourable to the 
best interests of Europe, than those which placed England 

^ Philippe Egalite was a prince of the blood royal, but voted for the 
death of Louis XIV. Louis Philippe, King of the French (1830-1848), 
was his son. Marat was the favorite of the Paris mob. Hideous, foul, 
wearing wooden shoes and a red liberty-cap even in the Convention, 
he was always clamorous for fresh heads to feed the guillotine. 
He met a fate richly deserved in 1793, however, being assassinated 
by Charlotte Corday. Hebert was a professed and intolerant 
atheist. He was executed in 1793, as was also Philippe Egalite. 
John Locke (163.3-1704) taught that all political authority emanates 
from the governed, that all power is to be used solely for the good of 
the governed, that resistance to princes is lawful when princes be- 
tray their trust, and that legislative bodies, being the voice of the 
people, are supreme. Algernon Sidney (1622-1683), one of the noblest 
and most disinterested of English patriots, was implicated in the 
Rye-House Plot to assassinate Charles II., and executed. Lord 
William Russell (1639-1683) was a man of the same temper as Sidney 
and perished in the same way at the same time. The Earl of Argyle 
and the Duke of Monmouth, who was a natural son of Charles II., 
were both executed in 1685 for attempting to overthrow James II. 



1798] TEE LIFE OF NELSON 155 

in strict alliance witli tlie snperannnated ^ and abominable 
governments of the Continent. The subjects of those 
governments who wished for freedom thus became enemies 
to England^ and dupes and agents of France. They 
looked to their own grinding grievances, and did not see 
the danger with which the liberties of the world were threat- 
ened : England, on the other hand, saw the danger in its 
true magnitude, but was blind to these grievances, and 
found herself compelled to support systems which had for- 
merly been equally the object of her abhorrence and her 
contempt. 'This was the state of Nelson's mind: he knew 
that there could be no peace for Europe till the pride of 
France was humbled, and her strength broken ;2 and he re- 
garded all those who were the friends of France as traitors 
to the common cause, as well as to their own individual 
sovereigns. There are situations in which the most oppo- 
site and hostile parties may mean equally well, and yet act 
equally wrong. The court of JN^aples, unconscious of 
committing any crime by continuing the system of misrule 
to which they had succeeded, conceived that, in maintain- 
ing things as they were, they were maintaining their own 
rights, and preserving the peo^ole from such horrors as had 
been perjoetrated in France. The Neapolitan revolution- 
ists thought that, without a total change of system, any 
relief from the present evils was impossible, and they be- 
lieved themselves justified in bringing about that change 
by any means. Both parties knew that it was the fixed 
intention of the French to revolutionize Naples. The 
revolutionists supposed that it was for the purpose of es- 
tablishing a free government: the court, and all disinter- 
ested persons, were perfectly aware that the enemy had 
no other object than conquest and plunder. 

The battle of the Nile shook the power of France. Her 
most successful general, and her finest army, were blocked 
up in Egypt — hopeless, as it ajDpeared, of return; and the 

^The English resolution of 1640 swept away abuses that lingered 
in every continental government until the closing years of the 
eighteenth century. 

^ The French proclaimed to all Europe that they proposed to break 
down feudal rights and erect republics on the ruins of every exist- 
ing state. Was the French Revolution a blessing to mankind ? 
Was it a necessity ? See Carlyle's French Revolution, and Burke's 
Reflections on the French Revolution. 



156 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

government was in the hands of men without talents, 
without character, and divided among themselves. Aus- 
tria, whom Buonaparte had terrified into a peace, at a time 
when constancy on her part would probably have led to 
his destruction, took advantage of the crisis to renew the 
war. Russia also was preparing to enter the field with 
unbroken forces ; led by a general ^ whose extraordinary 
military genius would have entitled him to a high and 
honourable rank in history, if it had not been sullied by all 
the ferocity of a barbarian.^ Naples, seeing its destruction 
at hand, and thinking that the only means of averting it 
was by meeting the danger, after long vacillations, which 
were produced by the fears, and weakness, and treachery 
of its council, agreed at last to join this new coalition,^ with 
a numerical force of 80,000 men. Nelson told the King, 
in plain terms, that he had his choice, either to advance, 
trusting to God for His blessing on a just cause, and pre- 
pared to die sword in hand — or to remain quiet, and be 
kicked out of his kingdom: — one of these things must 
happen. The King made answer, he would go on and trust 
in (xod and Nelson : and Nelson, who would else have re- 
turned to Egypt, for the purpose of destroying the French 
shipping in Alexandria, gave up his intention, at the de- 
sire of the Neapolitan court, and resolved to remain on 
that station, in the hope that he might be useful to the 
movements of the army. He suspected also, with reason, 
that the continuance of his fleet was so earnestly requested, 
because the royal family thought their persons would be 
safer, in case of any mishap, under the British flag, than 
under their own. 

His first object was the recovery of Malta — an island 
which the King of Naples pretended to claim. The Mal- 
tese, whom the villanous Knights of their order ^ had 
betrayed to France, had taken up arms against their rapa- 

^ Suwarrow (1730-1800) is said never to have lost a battle. 

"^ Probably a reference to the storming of Ismail on Christmas Day, 
1790, where 30,000 Turks and 20,000 Russians are said to have 
perished. 

^ This coalition, formed by Pitt in 1799, included Great Britain, 
Germany, Russia, Naples, Portugal, and Turkey. 

^ This order, known originally as Knights Hospitallers, or Knights 
of St. John, was founded about 1099. Charles V. of Germany gave 
them Malta in 1530. 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON I57 

cions invaders^ witli a spirit and unanimity worthy the 
highest praise. They blockaded the French garrison by 
land, and a small squadron^ under Captain Ball, began to 
blockade them by sea, on the 12th of October. Twelve 
days afterwards Nelson arrived. "It is as I suspected," 
he says: "the ministers at Naples knoAV nothing of the 
situation of the island. Not a house or bastion of the 
town is in possession of the islanders; and the Marquis de 
Mza tells us, they Avant arms, victuals, and support. He 
does not know that any Neapolitan officers are in the 
island; perhaps, although I have their names, none are 
arrived; and it is very certain, by the marquis's account, 
that no supplies have been sent by the governors of Syra- 
cuse or Messina." The little island of Gozo, dependent 
upon Malta, which had also been seized and garrisoned by 
the French, capitulated soon after his arrival, and was 
taken possession of by the British, in the name of his 
Sicilian Majesty — a power who had no better claim to it 
than France. Having seen this effected, and reinforced 
Captain Ball, he left that able officer to perform a most 
arduous and important part, and returned himself to co- 
operate with the intended movements of the Neapolitans. 

General Mack was at the head of the Neapolitan troops : 
— all that is now doubtful concerning this man is whether 
he was a coward or a traitor. At that time he was assidu- 
ously extolled as a most consummate commander, to whom 
Europe might look for deliverance : and when he was in- 
troduced by the King and Queen to the British Admiral, 
the Queen said to him, " Be to us by land. General, what 
my hero Nelson has been by sea. ' ' Mack, on his part, did 
not fail to praise the force which he was appointed to com- 
mand. " It was," he said, " the finest army in Europe." 
Nelson agreed with him, that there could not be finer men: 
but when the General, at a review, so directed the operations 
of a mock fight, that, by an unhappy blunder, his own 
troops were surrounded instead of those of the enemy, 
he turned to his friends and exclaimed, with bitterness, that 
the fellow did not understand his business. Another cir- 
cumstance, not less characteristic, confirmed Nelson in his 
judgment. "General Mack," said he, in one of his let- 
ters, " cannot move without five carriages! I have formed 
my opinion. I heartily pray I may be mistaken." 



158 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

While Mack, at the head of 32,000 men, marched into 
the Koman state, 5,000 Neapolitans were embarked on 
board the British and Portuguese squadron, to take pos- 
session of Leghorn. This was effected without opposi- 
tion; and the Grand Duke of Tuscany, whose neutrality 
had been so outrageously violated by the French, was 
better satisfied with the measure than some of the Neapoli- 
tans themselves. ISTaselli, their General, refused to seize 
the French vessels at Leghorn, because he and the Duke 
di Sangro, who was ambassador at the Tuscan court, main- 
tained that the King of Naples was not at war with France. 
" A¥hat! " said Nelson, "has not the King received, as a 
conquest made by him, the republican flag taken at Gozo ? 
Is not his own flag flying there, and at Malta, not only by 
his permission, but by his order? Is not his flag shot at 
every day by the French, and their shot returned from 
batteries which bear that flag ? Are not two frigates and a 
corvette placed under my orders ready to fight the French, 
meet them where they may ? Has not the King sent pub- 
licly from Naples guns, mortars, etc., with officers and 
artillery, against the French in Malta ? If these acts are 
not tantamount to any written paper, I give up all knowl- 
edge of what is war." This reasoning was of less avail 
than argument addressed to the General's fears. Nelson 
told him, that if he permitted the many hundred French 
who were in the mole to remain neutral, till they had a 
fair opportunity of being active, they had one sure re- 
source, if all other schemes failed, which was, to set one 
vessel on fire; the mole would be destroyed, probably the 
town also; and the port ruined for twenty years. This 
representation made Naselli agree to the half measure of 
laying an embargo on the vessels. Among them were a 
great number of French privateers, some of which were of 
such force as to threaten the greatest mischief to our com- 
merce, and about seventy sail of vessels belonging to the 
Ligurian Eej)ublic, as Genoa was now called, laden with 
corn, and ready to sail for Genoa and France; where their 
arrival would have expedited the entrance of more French 
troops into Italy. ''The General," said Nelson, "saw, 
I believe, the consequence of permitting these vessels to 
depart in the same light as myself : but there is this differ- 
ence between us — he prudently, and certainly safely, waits 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 159 

the orders of his court, taking no responsibility upon him- 
self ; I act from the circumstances of the moment, as I feel 
may be most advantageous for the cause which I serve, 
taking all responsibility on myself." It was in vain to 
hope for anything vigorous or manly from such men as 
Nelson was compelled to act with. The crews of the French 
ships and their allies were ordered to depart in two days. 
Eour days elapsed, and nobody obeyed the order; nor, in 
spite of the representations of the British Minister, Mr. 
Wyndham, were any means taken to enforce it: — the true 
Neapolitan shuffle, as Nelson called it, took place on all 
occasions. After an absence of ten days, he returned to 
Naples : and receiving intelligence there, from Mr. Wynd- 
ham, that the privateers were at last to be disarmed, the 
corn landed, and the crews sent away, he expressed his satis- 
faction at the news in characteristic language, saying, 
" So far I am content. The enemy will be distressed; and, 
thank God, I shall get no money. The world, I know, 
think that money is our God ; and now they will be unde- 
ceived, as far as relates to us. Down, down with the 
French! is my constant prayer." 

Odes, sonnets, and congratulatory poems, of every de- 
scription, were poured in upon Nelson, on his arrival at 
Naples. An Irish Franciscan, who was one of the poets, 
not being content with panegyric, upon this occasion 
ventured upon a flight of prophecy, and predicted that 
Lord Nelson would take Eome with his ships. His lord- 
ship reminded Father M'Oormick that ships could not 
ascend the Tiber : but the father, who had probably forgot- 
ten this circumstance, met the objection with a bold front, 
and declared he saw that it would come to pass not- 
withstanding. Eejoicings of this kind were of short dura- 
tion. The King of Naples was with the army which had 
entered Eome; but the castle of St. Angelo^ was held by 
the French, and 13,000 French were strongly posted in 
the Eoman states at Castallana. Mack had marched 
against them with 20,000 men. Nelson saw that the event 
was doubtful ; — or rather, that there could be very little 
hope of the result. But the immediate fate of Naples, 
as he well knew, hung upon the issue. "If Mack is de- 

^ This fort, originally built to be the tomb of Hadrian, was forti- 
fied by Belisarius against the Goths. 



160 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

feated," said lie^ "in fourteen days this country is lost; 
for the Emperor ^ has not yet moved his army^ and Naples 
has not the power of resisting the enemy. It was not a 
case for choice^, but of necessity, which induced the King 
to march out of his kingdom, and not wait till the French 
had collected a force sufficient to drive him out of it in a 
week." He had no reliance upon the Neapolitan officers; 
who, as he described them, seemed frightened at a drawn 
sword or a loaded gun; and he was perfectly aware of the 
consequences which the sluggish movements and deceitful 
policy of the Austrians were likely to bring down upon 
themselves, and all their Continental allies. ''A delayed 
war, on the part of the Emperor," said he, writing to the 
British Minister at Vienna, '' will be destructive to this 
monarchy of Naples; and, of course, to the newly-ac- 
quired dominions of the Emj^eror in Italy. Had the war 
commenced in September or October, all Italy would, at 
this moment, have been liberated. This month is worse 
than the last: the next will render the contest doubtful: 
and, in six months, when the Neapolitan Eepublic will be 
organised, armed, and with its numerous resources called 
forth, the Emperor will not only be defeated in Italy, but 
will totter on his throne at Vienna. Doivn, down with 
the French ! ought to be written in the council -room of 
every country in the world : and may Almighty God give 
right thoughts to every sovereign, is my constant prayer! " 
His perfect foresight of the immediate event was clearly 
shown in this letter, when he desired the ambassador to 
assure the Empress (who was a daughter of the house of 
Naples) that, notwithstanding the councils which had 
shaken the throne of her father and mother, he would re- 
main there, ready to save their persons, and her brothers 
and sisters; and that he had also left ships at Leghorn, to 
save the lives of the grand duke and her sister: "For 
all," said he, "must be a republic, if the Emperor does 
not act with expedition and vigour. ' ' 

His fears were soon verified. ' ' The Neapolitan officers, ' ' 
said Nelson, " did not lose much honour, for, God knows, 
they had not much to lose; — but they lost all they had." 
General St. Philip commanded the right wing, of 19,000 
men. He fell in with 3,000 of the enemy; and, as soon as 

^ The emperor referred to was Francis II. of Germany. 



1798] THE LIFE OF NELSON 161 

he came near enough, deserted to them. One of his men 
had virtue enough to level a musket at him, and shot him 
through the arm; but the wound was not sufficient to 
prevent him from joining with the French in pursuit of 
his own countrymen. Cannon, tents, baggage, and mili- 
tary chest were all forsaken by the runaways, though 
they lost only forty men: for the French, having put 
them to flight, and got possession of everything, did not 
pursue an army of more than three times their own num- 
ber. The main body of the Neapolitans, under Mack, did 
not behave better. The King returned to Naples; where 
every day brought with it the tidings of some new disgrace 
from the army, and the discovery of some new treachery 
at home; till four days after his return, the General sent 
him advice, that there was no prospect of stopping the prog- 
ress of the enemy, and that the royal family must look 
to their own personal safety. The state of the public 
mind at Naples was such, at this time, that neither the 
British Minister nor the British Admiral thought it pru- 
dent to appear at court. Their motions were watched; 
and the revolutionists had even formed a plan for seizing 
and detaining them as hostages, to prevent any attack on 
the city after the French should have taken possession of it. 
A letter, which Nelson addressed at this time to the First 
Lord of the Admiralty, shows in what manner he contem- 
plated the possible issue of the storm. It was in these 
words: — "My dear Lord, — There is an old saying, that 
when things are at the worst they must mend : — now the 
mind of man cannot fancy things worse than they are here. 
But, thank God! my health is better, my mind, never 
firmer, and my heart in the right trim to comfort, relieve, 
and protect those whom it is my duty to afford assistance 
to. Pray, my lord, assure our gracious sovereign that, 
while I live, I will support his glory : and that, if I fall, 
it shall be in a manner worthy of your lordshij^'s faithful 
and obliged Nelson. I must not write more. Every word 
may be a text for a long letter." 

Meantime Lady Hamilton arranged everything for the 
removal of the royal family. This was conducted, on her 
part, with the greatest address, and without suspicion, be- 
cause she had been in habits of constant correspondence 
with the Queen. It was known that the removal could not 

11 



162 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1798 

be effected without danger; for the mob, and especially 
the lazzaroni, were attached to the King : and as^ at this 
time, they felt a natural presumption in their own numbers 
and strength;, they insisted that he should not leave Naples. 
Several persons fell victims to their fury: among others 
was a messenger from Vienna^ whose body was dragged 
under the windows of the palace in the King's sight. The 
King and Queen spoke to the mob, and ]3acified them ; but 
it would not have been safe, while they were in this agi- 
tated state, to have embarked the eifects of the royal fam- 
ily openly. Lady Hamilton, like a heroine of modern 
romance, explored, with no little danger, a subterraneous 
passage, leading from the palace to the seaside: through 
this passage the royal treasures, the choicest pieces of 
painting and sculpture, and other property, to the amount 
of two millions and a half, were conveyed to the shore, and 
stowed safely on board the English ships. On the night 
of the 21st, at half-past eight, Xelson landed, brought out 
the whole royal family, embarked them in three barges, 
and carried them safely, through a tremendous sea, to the 
Vanguard. Notice was then immediately given to the 
British merchants, that they would be received on board 
any ship in the squadron. Their property had previously 
been embarked in transports. Two days were passed in 
the Bay, for the purpose of taking such persons on board 
as required an asylum; and, on the night of the 23d, the 
fleet sailed. The next day a more violent storm arose than 
Nelson had ever before encountered. On the 25th, the 
youngest of the princes was taken ill, and- died in Lady 
Hamilton's arms. During this whole trying season. Lady 
Hamilton waited upon the royal family with the zeal of 
the most devoted servant, at a time when, except one man, 
no person belonging to the court assisted them.^ 

On the morning of the 26th, the royal family were 
landed at Palermo. It was soon seen that their flight had 
not been premature. Prince Pignatelli, who had been left 
as vicar-general and viceroy, with orders to defend the 

^ Mr. W. Clark Russell remarks acutely but ungallantly that 
Lady Hamilton's early training as nurse-maid was probably the 
cause of her usefulness at this crisis. Sir William, determined not 
to drown, got a pistol to shoot himself as soon as the ship should 
begin to sink. 



1799] THE LIFE OF NELSON 163 

kingdom to the last rock in Calabria^ sent plenipotentia- 
ries to the French camp before Capua; and they, for the 
sake of saving the capital, signed an armistice, by which 
the greater part of the kingdom was given up to the enemy : 
a cession that necessarily led to the loss of the whole. This 
was on the 10th of January. The French advanced toward 
Naples. Mack, under pretext of taking shelter from, the 
fury of the lazzaroni, fled to the French General Championet, 
who sent him under an escort to Milan: but as France 
hoped for further services from this wretched traitor, it 
was thought prudent to treat him apparently as a prisoner 
of war. The Neapolitan army disappeared in a few days : 
of the men, some, following their officers, deserted to the 
enemy : the greater part took the opportunity of disband- 
ing themselves. (The lazzaroni proved true to their coun- 
try: they attacked the enemy's advanced posts, drove them 
in, and were not dispirited by the murderous defeat 
which they suffered from the main body. Flying into the 
city, they continued to defend it, even after the French 
had planted their artillery in the principal streets. Had 
there been a man of genius to have directed their enthusi- 
asm, or had there been any correspondent feelings in the 
higher ranks, Naples might have set a glorious example to 
Europe, and have jDroved the grave of every Frenchman 
who entered it. But the vices of the government had ex- 
tinguished all other patriotism than that of a rabble, who 
had no other virtue than that sort of loyalty which \yas 
like the fidelity of a dog to its master. This fidelity the 
French and their adherents counteracted by another kind 
of devotion: the priests affirmed that St. Januarius Hiad 
declared in favour of the revolution. The miracle of his 
blood was performed with the usual success, and more than 
usual effect, on the very evening v/hen, after two days of 
desperate fighting, the French obtained possession of Na- 
ples. A French guard of honour was stationed at his 
church. Championet gave, " Respect for St. Januarius! " 

^ St. Januarius, Bishop of Beuevento, was beheaded about 300 a.d., 
by Diocletian. Some of his blood is preserved, it is said, in two 
small bottles, and becomes liquid whenever brought near the head of 
the saint, which is buried in the cathedral at Naples. If the blood 
fails to liquefy disasters are at hand. The miracle is performed 
September 19, the traditional day of his martyrdom. 



164 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1799 

as the word for the army; and the next day Te Deum was 
sung by the archbishop, in the cathedral; and the inhab- 
itants were invited to attend the ceremony, and join in 
thanksgiving for the glorious entry of the French; who, 
it was said, being under the peculiar protection of Provi- 
dence, had regenerated the Neapolitans, and were come to 
establish and consolidate their happiness. 

It seems to have been Nelson's opinion, that the Austrian 
cabinet regarded the conquest of Naples with complacency, 
and that its measures were directed so as designedly not to 
prevent the French from overrunning it. That cabinet 
was assuredly capable of an}" folly and of any baseness : and 
it is not improbable that, at this time, calculating upon 
the success of the new coalition, it indulged a dream of 
adding extensively to its former Italian possessions; and, 
therefore, left the few remaining powers of Italy to be 
overthrown, as a means which would facilitate its own ambi- 
tious views. The King of Sardinia, finding it impossible 
longer to endure the exactions of France, and the insults 
of the French commissary, went to Leghorn, embarked on 
board a Danish frigate, and sailed, under British protec- 
tion, to Sardinia — that part of his dominions which the 
maritime supremacy of England rendered a secure asylum. 
On his arrival he published a protest against the conduct 
of France; declaring, upon the faith and word of a king, 
that he had never infringed, even in the slightest degree, 
the treaties which he had made with the French republic. 
Tuscany was soon occupied by French troops: a fate which 
bolder policy might, perhaps, have failed to avert, but 
which its weak and timid neutrality rendered inevitable. 
Nelson began to fear even for Sicily. " Oh, my dear sir," 
said he, writing to Commodore Duckworth, " one thousand 
English troops would save Messina, — and I fear Greneral 
Stuart cannot give me men to save this most important 
island! " But his representations were not lost upon Sir 
Charles Stuart: this officer hastened immediately from 
Minorca, with a thousand men, assisted in the measures 
of defence which were taken, and did not return before he 
had satisfied himself, that, if the Neapolitans were ex- 
cluded from the management of affairs, and the spirit of 
the peasantry properly directed, Sicily was safe. Before 
his coming. Nelson had offered the King, if no resources 



1799] THE LIFE OF NELSON 165 

slionld arrive, to defend Messina with the ship's company 
of an English man-of-war. 

Enssia had now entered into the war. Corfu surren- 
dered to a Eussian and Turkish fleet, acting noW;, for the 
first time, in strange confederacy; yet against a power 
which was certainly the common and worst enemy of both. 
Troubridge, having given up the blockade of Alexandria 
to Sir Sidney Smith, joined JSTelson, bringing with him a 
considerable addition of strength; and in himself, what 
IsTelson valued more, a man upon whose sagacity, indefatig- 
able zeal, and inexhaustible resources, he could place full 
reliance. Troubridge was instructed to commence the 
operations against the French in the Bay of N^aples. Mean- 
time Cardinal Euffo, a man of questionable character, but 
of a temper fitted for such times, having landed in Calabria, 
raised what he called a Christian army, composed of the 
best and the vilest materials; loyal peasants, enthusiastic 
priests and friars, galley slaves, the emptying of the jails, 
and banditti. The islands in the Bay of Naples were joy- 
fully delivered up by the inhabitants, who were in a state 
of famine already, from the effect of this baleful revolution. 
Troubridge distributed among them all his flour; and Nel- 
son pressed the Sicilian court incessantly for supplies, tell- 
ing them, that 10,000/. given away in provisions would, at 
this time, purchase a kingdom. Money, he was told, they 
had not to give; and the wisdom and intregrity which 
might have supplied its want, were not to be found. 
"There is nothing," said he, "which I propose that is 
not, as far as orders go, implicitly complied with : but the 
execution is dreadful, and almost makes me mad. My 
desire to serve their Majesties faithfully, as is my duty, 
has been such, that I am almost blind and worn out; and 
cannot, in my present state, hold much longer." 

Before any government can be overthrown by the con- 
sent of the people, the government must be intolerably 
oppressive, or the people thoroughly corrupted. Bad as 
the misrule of Naples had been, its consequences had been 
felt far less there than in Sicily; and the peasantry had 
that attachment to the soil, which gives birth to so many 
of the noblest, as well as of the happiest feelings. In all 
the islands the people were joerfectly frantic with joy, when 
they saw the Neapolitan colours hoisted. At Procida, 



166 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1799 

Troubridge could not procure even a rag of the tri-col- 
oured flag to lay at the King's feet; it was rent into ten 
thousand pieces by the inhabitants^ and entirely destroyed. 
"The horrid treatment of the French/' he said^ "had 
made them mad." It exasperated the ferocity of a char- 
acter which neither the laws nor the religion under which 
they lived tended to mitigate. Their hatred, was especially 
directed against the N^eapolitan revolutionists; and the 
fishermen, in concert among themselves, chose each his 
own victim, whom he would stiletto when the day of venge- 
ance should arrive. The head of one was sent off one 
morning to Troubridge, with his basket of grapes for break- 
fast ; — and a note from the Italian who had what he called 
the glory of presenting it, saying, he had killed the man 
as he was running away, and begging his Excellency to ac- 
cept the head, and consider it as a proof of the writer's 
attachment to the crown. With the first success of the 
court the work of punishment began. The judge at Ischia 
said it was necessary to have a bishop to degrade the trait- 
orous priests before he could execute them: upon which 
Troubridge advised him to hang them first, and send them 
to him afterwards, if he did not think that degradation 
sufficient. This was said with the straightforward feeling 
of a sailor, who cared as little for canon law as he knew 
about it: but when he discovered that the judge's orders 
were to go through the business in a summary manner, 
under his sanction, he told him at once, that could not be, 
for the prisoners were not British subjects; and he declined 
having anything to do with it. There w^ere manifestly 
persons about the court, who, while they thirsted for the 
pleasure of vengeance, were devising how to throw the 
odium of it ujoon the English. They wanted to employ an 
English man-of-war to carry the priests to Palermo, for 
degradation, and then bring them back for execution; — 
and they applied to Troubridge for a hangman, which he 
indignantly refused. He, meantime, was almost heart- 
broken by the situation in which he found himself. He 
had promised relief to the islanders, relying upon the 
Queen's promise to him. He had distributed the whole of 
his private stock, — there was plenty of grain at Palermo, 
and in its neighbourhood, and yet none was sent him : the 
enemy, he complained, had more interest there than the 



1799] THE LIFE OF NELSON 167 

King; and the distress for breads, which he witnessed^, was 
such, he said, that it would move even a Frenchman to 
pity. 

Nelson's heart too was at this time ashore. " To tell 
you," he says, writing to Lady Hamilton, ^'^how dreary 
and uncomfortable the Vanguard appears, is only telling 
you what it is to go from the pleasantest society to a soli- 
tary cell; or from the dearest friends to no friends. I am 
now perfectly the great man, — not a creature near me. 
From my heart I wish myself the little man again. You 
and good Sir William have spoiled me for any place, but 
with you." 

His mind was not in a happier state respecting pub- 
lic affairs. '^' As to politics," said he, "at this time they 
are my abomination : — the ministers of kings and princes 
are as great scoundrels as ever lived. The brother of the 
Emperor is just going to marry the great something of 
Russia, and it is more than expected that a kingdom is to 
be found for him in Italy, and that the King of Naples 
will be sacrificed." Had there been a wise and manly 
spirit in the Italian states, or had the conduct of Austria 
been directed by anything like a principle of honour, a 
more favourable opportunity could not have been desired, 
for restoring order and prosperity in Europe, than the mis- 
conduct of the French Directory at this time afforded. 
But Nelson saw selfishness and knavery wherever he 
looked; and even the pleasure of seeing a cause prosper, in 
which he was so zealously engaged, was poisoned by his 
sense of the rascality of those with whom he was compelled 
to act. At this juncture intelligence arrived that the 
French fleet had escaped from Brest, under cover of a fog, 
passed Cadiz unseen by Lord Keith's squadron, in hazy 
weather, and entered the Mediterranean. It was said to 
consist of twenty-four sail of the line, six frigates, and 
three sloops. The object of the French was to liberate 
the Spanish fleet, form a junction with them, act against 
Minorca and Sicily, and overpower our naval force in the 
Mediterranean by falling in with detached squadrons, and 
thus destroying it in detail. When they arrived at Cartha- 
gena, they requested the Spanish ships to make sail and 
join; but the Spaniards replied, they had not men to man 
them. To this it was answered, that the French had men 



168 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1799 

enongli on board for that purpose. But the Spaniards 
seem to have been apprehensive of delivering up their 
ships thus entirely into the power of such allies^ and refused 
to come out. The fleet from Cadiz^, however, consisting 
of from seventeen to twenty sail of the line, got out, under 
Masaredo, a man who then bore an honourable name, 
which he has since rendered infamous by betraying his 
country. They met with a violent storm off the coast of 
Oran, which dismasted many of their ships, and so effect- 
ually disabled them, as to prevent the junction, and frus- 
trate a well planned expedition. 

Before this occurred, and while the junction was as prob- 
able as it would have been formidable, Nelson was in a 
state of the greatest anxiety. " What a state am I in ! " said 
he to Earl St. Vincent. " If I go, I risk, and more than 
risk Sicily: for we know, from experience, that more de- 
pends upon opinion than upon acts themselves: and as I 
stay, my heart is breaking." His first business was to 
summon Troubridge to join him, with all the ships of the 
line under his command, and a frigate, if possible. Then 
hearing that the French had entered the Mediterranean, 
and expecting them at Palermo, where he had only his own 
shi|), with that single ship he prepared to make all the re- 
sistance possible. Troubridge having joined him, he left 
Ca|)tain E. J. Foote, of the Seahorse, to command the 
smaller vessels in the Bay of Naples, and sailed with six 
ships, one a Portuguese, and a Portuguese corvette; tell- 
ing Earl St. Vincent that the squadron should never fall 
into the hands of the enemy. ' ' And before we are de- 
stroyed," said he, " I have little doubt but they will have 
their wings so completely clipped, that they may be easily 
overtaken. " It was just at this time that he received from 
Captain Hallowell the present of the coffin. ^ Such a pres- 
ent was regarded by the men with natural astonishment : 
one of his old shipmates in the Agamemnon said: "We 
shall have hot work of it indeed! You see the Admiral 
intends to fight till he is killed; and there he is to be 
buried." Nelson placed it upright against the bulkhead 
of his cabin, behind his chair, where he sat at dinner. The 
gift suited him at this time. It is said that he was disap- 
pointed in the step-son whom he had loved so dearly from 

I See p. 137. 



1799] THE LIFE OF NELSON 169 

his childliood, and who had saved his life at Teneriffe : ^ and 
it is certain that he had now formed an infatuated attach- 
ment for Lady Hamilton^ which totally weaned his affec- 
tions from his wife. Further than this, there is no reason 
to believe that this most unfortunate attachment was crim- 
inal : but this was criminality enough, and it brought with 
it its punishment. Nelson was dissatisfied with himself, 
and therefore weary of the world. This feeling he now 
frequently expressed. ' ' There is no true happiness in this 
life, ' ' said he ; " and in my present state I could quit it 
with a smile. ' ' And in a letter to his old friend Davison, 
he said: " Believe me, my only wish is to sink with honour 
into the grave; and when that shall please God, I shall 
meet death with a smile, l^ot that I am insensible to the 
honours and riches my King and country have heaped 
upon me — so much more than any officer could deserve; 
yet am I ready to quit this world of trouble, and envy none 
but those of the estate six feet by two." 

Well had it been for ]S[elson if he had made no other 
sacrifices to this unhappy attachment than his peace of 
mind; but it led to the only blot upon his public char- 
acter. While he sailed from Palermo, with the intention 
of collecting his whole force, and keeping off Maretimo, 
either to receive reinforcements there, if the French were 
bound upwards, or to hasten to Minorca, if that should be 
their destination. Captain Foote, in the Seahorse, with 
the N^eapolitan frigates and some small vessels under his 
command, was left to act with a land force consisting of a 
few regular troops, of four different nations, and with the 
armed rabble which Cardinal Euffo called the Christian 
army." His directions were, to co-operate to the utmost of 
his power with the royalists, at whose head Rnffo had been 
placed ; and he had no other instructions whatever. Ruffo 
advancing, without any plan, but relying upon the enemy's 
want of numbers, which prevented them from attempting to 
act upon the offensive, and ready to take advantage of any 
accident which might occur, approached Naples. Fort St. 
Elmo, which commands the town, was wholly garrisoned by 
the French troops; the castles of Uovo and Suovo, which 

' See p. 56, Note 1. 

'^Nelson called Ruffo "the great devil who commanded the 
Christian army." 



170 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1799 

commanded the ancliorage, were chiefly defended by Nea- 
politan revolutionists, the powerful men among them hav- 
ing taken shelter there. If these castles were taken, the 
reduction of Fort St. Elmo would be greatly expedited. 
They were strong places, and there was reason to appre- 
hend that the French fleet might arrive to relieve them. 
Kulfo proposed to the garrison to capitulate, on condition 
that their persons and property should be guaranteed, and 
that they should, at their own option, either be sent to 
Toulon or remain at Naples, without being molested either 
in their persons or families. This capitulation was ac- 
cepted : it was signed by the Cardinal, and the Russian 
and Turkish commanders; and, lastly, by Captain Foote, 
as commander of the British force. About six-and-thirty 
hours afterwards Nelson arrived in the Bay, with a force, 
which had joined him during his cruise, consisting of seven- 
teen sail of the line, with seventeen hundred troops on 
board, and the prince-royal of Naples in the Admiral's 
ship. A flag of truce was flying on the castles, and on 
board the Seahorse. Nelson made a signal to annul the 
treaty, declaring that he would grant rebels no other 
terms than those of unconditional submission. The Car- 
dinal objected to this; nor could all the arguments of Nel- 
son, Sir William Hamilton, and Lady Hamilton, who took 
an active part in the conference, convince him that a treaty 
of such a nature, solemnly concluded, could honourably 
be set aside. He retired at last, silenced by Nelson's au- 
thority, but not convinced. Captain Foote was sent out 
of the Bay; and the garrisons, taken out of the castles, 
under pretence of carrying the treaty into efl^ect, were de- 
livered over as rebels to the vengeance of the Sicilian 
court. — A deplorable transaction! a stain upon the memory \ 
of Nelson, and the honour of England! To palliate it 
would be in vain; to justify it would be wicked: there is no .j 
alternative for one who will not make himself a participator// 
in guilt, but to record the disgraceful story* with sorrow 
and with shame. ^ 

* In one of his letters to Lady Hamilton, written a few weeks 
before this fatal transaction, Nelson says in speaking of the Queen : 
" I declare to God, my whole study is how to meet her approbation." 
— Southey^s Note. 

^ In spite of what Southey says, it is possible to defend Nelson. 
To his mind the revolutionists were traitors, and to make terms with 



1799] THE LIFE OF NELSON I71 

Prince Francesco Caraccioli, a younger branch of one of 
the noblest Neapolitan families, escaped from one of these 
castles before it capitulated. He was at the head of the 
marine, and was nearly seventy years ^ of age, bearing a 
high character, both for professional and personal merit. 
He had accompanied the court to Sicily : but when the revo- 
lutionary government, or Parthenopsean ^ Eepublic, as it was 
called, issued an edict, ordering all absent I^eapolitans to 
return, on pain of confiscation of their property, he solicited 
and obtained permission of the King to return, his estates 
being very great. It is said that the King, when he granted 
him this permission, warned him not to take any part in 
politics; expressing, at the same time, his own persuasion 
that he should recover his kingdom. But neither the 
King, nor he himself, ought to have imagined that, in 
such times, a man of such re^^utation would be permitted 
to remain inactive; and it soon appeared that Caraccioli 
was again in command of the navy, and serving under the 
republic against his late sovereign. The sailors reported 
that he was forced to act thus; and this was believed, till 
it was seen that he directed ably the offensive operations of 
the revolutionists, and did not avail himself of opportu- 
nities for escaping when they offered. When the recovery 
of ISTaples was evidently near, he applied to Cardinal Ruffo, 
and to the Duke of Calvirrano, for j)rotection; expressing 
his hope, that the few days during which he had been 
forced to obey the French would not outweigh forty years 
of faithful services; but, perhaps not receiving such assur- 
ances as he wished, and knowing too well the temper of 
the Sicilian court, he endeavoured to secrete himself, and 
a price was set upon his head. More unfortunately for 
others than for himself, he was brought in alive, having 
been discovered in the disguise of a |)easant, and carried 
one morning on board Lord N'elson's ship, with his hands 
tied behind him. 

traitors was almost as bad as treason itself. Terms granted by a 
military officer are always conditional upon the approval of his 
superior, unless he has been granted special authority to negotiate. 
No such authority had been delegated to Ruifo. He had been given 
express orders, indeed, not to do so. 

^ He was forty-seven. 

^ So called from Parthenope, the ancient name of Naples. Nelson 
called it the Vesuvian Republic. 



172 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1799 

Caraccioli was well known to the British officers^ and 
had been ever highly esteemed by all who knew him. Cap- 
tain Hardy ordered him immediately to be unbound, and 
to be treated with all those attentions which he felt due to 
a man who, when last on board the Foudroymit, had been 
received as an admiral and a prince. Sir William and 
Lady Hamilton were in the ship, but Nelson, it is affirmed, 
saw no one except his own officers during the tragedy which 
ensued. His own determination was made; and he issued 
an order to the ISTeapolitan commodore. Count Thurn, to 
assemble a court-martial of l^eapolitan officers, on board 
the British flag-ship, proceed immediately to try the pris- 
oner, and report to him, if the charges were proved, what 
punishment he ought to suiier. These proceedings were 
as rapid as possible; Caraccioli was brought on board at 
nine in the forenoon, and the trial began at ten. It lasted 
two hours: he averred, in his defence, that he had acted 
under compulsion, having been compelled to serve as a 
common soldier, till he consented to take command of the 
fleet. This, the apologists of Lord Nelson say, he failed 
in proving. They forget that the possibility of proving it 
was not allowed him ; for he was brought to trial within an 
hour after he was legally in arrest; and how, in that time, 
was he to collect his witnesses ? He was found guilty, and 
sentenced to death; and Nelson gave orders that the sen- 
tence should be carried into effect that evening, at five 
o'clock, on board the Sicilian frigate. La Minerva,'^ by 
hanging him at the fore-yard-arm till sunset; when the 
body was to be cut down and thrown into the sea. Carac- 
cioli requested Lieutenant Parkinson, under whose custody 
he was placed, to intercede with Lord Nelson for a second 
trial, — for this, among other reasons, that Count Thurn, 
who presided at the court-martial, was notoriously his per- 
sonal enemy. ^ Nelson made answer, that the prisoner had 
been fairly tried by the officers of his own country, and he 
could not interfere — forgetting that, if he felt himself 
justified in ordering the trial and the execution, no human 

' He had himself commanded this ship while in the service of Ferdi- 
nand ; and it is almost certain that, while in command of the re- 
publican navy, he had fired upon her as well as upon the town of 
Annunciata. 

^ This is very doubtful. 



1799] THE LIFE OF NELSON 173 

being conld ever have questioned the propriety of liis in- 
terfering on the side of mercy. Oaraccioli then entreated 
that he might be shot, — " I am an old man, sir," said he; 
'' I leave no family to lament me, and therefore cannot be 
supposed to be very anxious about prolonging my life; but 
the disgrace of being hanged is dreadful to me." When 
this was repeated to JSTelson, he only told the Lieutenant, 
with much agitation, to go and attend to his duty. As a 
last hope, Oaraccioli asked the Lieutenant if he thought an 
application to Lady Hamilton would be beneficial ? Park- 
inson went to seek her. She was not to be seen on this 
occasion, — but she was present at the execution.^ She had 
the most devoted attachment to the ISTeapolitan court; and 
the hatred which she felt against those whom she regarded 
as its enemies made her, at this time, forget what was due 
to the character of her sex, as well as of her country. 
Here, also, a faithful historian is called upon to pronounce 
a severe and unqualified condemnation of JSTel son's con- 
duct. Had he the authority of his Sicilian Majesty for 
proceeding as he did ? H so, why was not that authority 
produced ? If not, why were the proceedings hurried on 
without it ? Why was the trial precipitated so that it was 
impossible for the prisoner, if he had been innocent, to 
provide the witnesses who might have proved him so? 
Why was a second trial refused, when the known animosity 
of the President of the court against the prisoner was con- 
sidered ? Why was the execution hastened so as to pre- 
clude any appeal for mercy, and render the prerogative of 
mercy useless ? — Doubtless, the British Admiral seemed to 
himself to be acting under a rigid sense of justice; but, 
to all other persons, it was obvious that he was influenced 
by an infatuated attachment — a baneful passion, which 
destroyed his domestic happiness, and now, in a second 
instance, stained inefCaceably, his public character.^ 

^ Lady Hamilton did not witness the execution. 

^ " The prompt trial, sentence, and execution of this notorious 
traitor filled the Italian Jacobins with mingled rage and terror. 
They sputtered venom and lies, which found their way into print, 
and were introduced into literature by Southey, whose story was 
long supposed, and is by many still supposed, to be a faithful narra- 
tive of facts, . . . With the morality of Lady Hamilton we are 
not here concerned. With all her faults she was a kindly, soft-hearted 
woman ; but even if she had been the cruel, bloody-minded monster 



174 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1799 

The body was carried out to a considerable distance^ and 
sunk in the bay, with three double-headed shot, weighing 
two hundred and fifty pounds, tied to its legs. Between 
two and three weeks afterwards, when the King was on 
board the Foudroyant, a Neapolitan fisherman came to 
the ship, and solemnly declared that Oaraccioli had risen 
from the bottom of the sea, and was coming, as fast as he 
could, to Naples, swimming half out of the water. Such 
an account was listened to like a tale of idle credulity. The 
day being fair, Nelson, to please the King, stood out to 
sea; but the ship had not proceeded far before a body was 
distinctly seen, upright in the water, and approaching 
them. It was soon recognized to be, indeed, the corpse of 
Oaraccioli, which had risen and floated, while the great 
weights attached to the legs kept the body in a position 
like that of a liying man. A fact so extraordinary aston- 
ished the King, and perhaps excited some feeling of super- 
stitious fear, akin to regret. He gave permission for the 
body to be taken on shore, and receive Christian burial. 
It produced no better effect. Naples exhibited more dread- 
ful scenes than it had witnessed in the days of Massaniello.^ 
After the mob had had their fill of blood and plunder, 
the reins were given to justice — if that can be called justice 
which annuls its own stipulations, looks to the naked facts 
alone, disregarding all motives and all circumstances; and, 
without considering character or science, or sex, or youth, 

she has been represented, it is sufficiently well attested that she 
neither spoke to nor saw Nelson between the time of Caracciolo's 
being brought on board and his execution. That in cases of mutiny 
Nelson considered clemency misplaced, and prompt execution ad- 
visable, has already been shown ; and rebellion such as Caracciolo's 
was to him the worst form of mutiny. In hanging him the same 
evening he was strictly following the precedent of St. Vincent's 
determination off Cadiz only a couple of years before ; and to those 
who carefully consider the circumstances at Naples, and the pain 
which this rigid execution of his duty must have given a man of 
kindly nature, Nelson's conduct at this period, far from being 
judged blaraable, disgraceful, ' a stain upon his memory,' will appear 
rather most honourable and meritorious." — Laughton, Nelson, p. 
138. 

^ Massaniello, a name contracted from Tommaso Aniello (1623- 
1647), in the latter year headed a successful revolt against the viceroy 
of Philip IV. of Spain. His victory was disgraced by the shedding 
of the blood of innocent people and the destruction of some of the 
finest buildings in the city. 



1799] THE LIFE OF NELSON I75 

sacrifices its victims^ not for the public weal, but for the 
gratification of greedy vengeance.^ 

The castles of St. Elmo, Gaeta, and Capua, remained 
to be subdued. On the land side, there was no danger that 
the French in these garrisons should be relieved, for Suva- 
rof was now beginning to drive the enemy before him; 
but Nelson thought his presence necessary in the Bay of 
Naples: and when Lord Keith, having received intelligence 
that the French and Spanish fleets had formed a junction, 
and sailed for Oarthagena, ordered him to repair to Mi- 
norca, with the whole or the greater part of his force, he sent 
Admiral Duckworth with a small part only. This was a 
dilemma which he had foreseen. " Should such an order 
come at this moment," he said, in a letter previously writ- 
ten to the Admiralty, ' ^ it would be a case for some consid- 
eration, whether Minorca is to be risked, or the two king- 
doms of Naples and Sicily: I rather think my decision 
would be to risk the former. ' ' And, after he had acted 
upon this opinion, he wrote in these terms to the Duke of 
Clarence, with whose high notions of obedience he was 
well acquainted: "I am well aware of the consequences of 
disobeying my orders; but as I have often before risked 
my life for the good cause, so I, with cheerfulness, did my 
commission, for, although a military tribunal may think 
me criminal, the world will approve of my conduct: and I 
regard not my own safety, when the honour of my King 
is at stake." 

Nelson was right in his judgment : no attempt was made 
upon Minorca; and the expulsion of the French from 
Naples may rather be said to have been eifected, than ac- 
celerated, by the English and Portuguese of the allied 
fleet, acting upon shore, under Troubridge. The French 
commandant at St. Elmo, relying upon the strength of 
the place, and the nature of the force Avhicli attacked it, 
had insulted Captain Foote in the grossest terms: but 
Citoyen Mejan was soon taught better manners, when 

^ " The RoyaKsts had been too thoroughly frightened to be in a 
merciful humour ; and asssuredly the Jacobins, whether of Italy or 
France, had not set them an example of clemency. ... In 
truth, the executions, about seventy, with which the Neapolitan 
Royalists took vengeance for their terror and losses, fade into insig- 
nificance when compared with Jacobin enormities." — Laughton, 
Nelson, p. 130. 



176 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1799 

Troubridge, in spite of every obstacle^ opened five batter- 
ies upon the fort. He was informed, that none of his 
letterS;, with the insolent printed words at the top, Liherte, 
Egalite, Guerre aux Tyrans, etc., would be received; but 
that, if he wrote like a soldier and a gentleman, he should 
be answered in the sam.e style. The Frenchman then be- 
gan to flatter his antagonist upon the Menfaisance and 
liumanite, which, he said, were the least of the many vir- 
tues which distinguished Monsieur Troubridge. Monsieur 
Troubridge's Menfaisance was, at this time, thinking of 
mining the fort. — "If we can accomplish that," said he, 
' { I am a strong advocate to send them, hostages and all, 
to' Old Nick, and surprise him with a group of nobility 
and republicans. Meantime," he added, "it was some 
satisfaction to perceive that the shells fell well, and broke 
some of their shins." Finally, to complete his character, 
Mejan offered to surrender for 150,000 ducats. Great 
Britain, perhaps, has made but too little use of this kind 
of artillery, which France has found so effectual towards 
subjugating the continent: but Troubridge had the prey 
within his reach ; and, in the course of a few days, his last 
battery, ' ^ after much trouble and palaver, " as he said, 
"brought the vagabonds to their senses." 

Troubridge had more difficulties to overcome in this 
siege, from the character of the JSTeapolitans who pretended 
to assist him, and whom he made useful, than even from 
the strength of the place and the skill of the French. 
"Such damned cowards and villains," he declared, "he 
had never seen before." The men at the advanced posts 
carried on, what he called, "a diabolical good understand- 
ing " ^ with the enemy, and the workmen would sometimes 
take fright and run away. " I make the best I can," said 
he, " of the degenerate race I have to deal with: the whole 
means of guns, ammunition, pioneers, etc., with all mate- 
rials, rest with them. With fair promises to the men, and 
threats of instant death if I found any one erring, a little 
spur has been given." Nelson said of him, with trutii, 
upon this occasion, that he was a first-rate general, f ' I 



^ Some pupil should get some old soldier of the Civil War to tell him 
how the pickets, Union and Confederate, used to visit, trade tobacco 
for coffee, and shoot one another directly afterward. Then he should 
write up his conversation for the class. 



1799] THE LIFE OF NELSON 177 

find, sir/' said lie afterwards, in a letter to the Duke of 
Clarence, " that General Koehler does not approve of such 
irregular proceedings as naval officers attacking and de- 
fending fortifications. We have but one idea, — to get 
close alongside. JSTone but a sailor Avould have placed a 
battery only one hundred and eighty yards from the castle 
of St. Elmo : a soldier must have gone according to art, 
and the WW WW way.^ My brave Troubridge went straight 
on, for we had no time to spare." 

Troubridge then proceeded to Capua, and took the com- 
mand of the motley besieging force. One thousand of the 
best men in the fleet were sent to assist in the siege. Just 
at this time Nelson received a peremptory order from Lord 
Keith, to sail with the whole of his force for the protection 
of Minorca; or, at least, to retain no more than was abso- 
lutely necessary at Sicily. 'CYou will easily conceive my 
feelings," said he, in communicating this to Earl St. Vin- 
cent: " but my mind, as your lordship knows, was perfectly 
prepared for this order; and it is now, more than ever, 
made up. At this moment I will not part with a single 
ship; as I cannot do that without drawing a hundred and 
twenty men from each ship, now at the siege of Capua. 
I am fully aware of the act I have committed; but I am 
prepared for any fate which may await my disobedience. 
Capua ^ and Gaeta^ will soon fall; and the moment the 
scoundrels of French are out of this kingdom, I shall send 
eight or nine ships of the line to Minorca. I have done 
what I thought right : others may think differently : but 
it will be my consolation that I have gained a kingdom, 
seated a faithful ally of his Majesty firmly on his throne, 
and restored happiness to millions." 

At Capua, Troubridge had the same difficulties as at 
St. Elmo; and being farther from Naples, and from the 
fleet, was less able to overcome them. The powder was so 
bad that he suspected treachery: and when he asked Nel- 
son to spare him forty casks from the ships, he told him 
it would be necessary that some Englishmen should accom- 
pany it, or they would steal one half, and change the 
other. "Every man you see," said he, "gentle and 

^ This is, by zig-zag trenches. 

^ As an exercise, write a paragraph on Capua like that on Elsinore 
on p. 301. Do the same on Aboukir. ^See ^neid, vii., 1-4. 

12 



178 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1799 

simple, are siicli notorious villains, fclaat it is a misery to be 
with them." Oapna, however, soon fell. Gaeta imme- 
diately afterwards surrendered to Captain Louis of the 
Minotcmr. Here the commanding officer acted more un- 
like a Frenchman, Captain Louis said, than any one he 
had ever met; meaning that he acted like a man of hon- 
our. He required, however, that the garrison should carry 
away their horses and other pillaged property: to v/hich 
Nelson replied, ^'That no property wliich they did not 
bring with them into the country could be theirs; and that 
the greatest care should be taken to prevent them from 
carrying it away." — "I am sorry," said he to Captain 
TLouis, ' ' that you have entered into any altercation. There 
/is no way of dealing with a Frenchman but to knock him 
/ down : to be civil to them is only to be laughed at, when 
^ they are enemies. ' ' 

The whole kingdom of Naples was thus delivered by Nel- 
son from the French. The Admiralty, hoAvever, thought it 
expedient to censure him for disobeying Lord Keith's 
orders, and thus hazarding Minorca, without, as it appeared 
to them, any sufficient reason; and also for having landed 
seamen for the siege of Capua, to form part of an army 
employed in operations at a distance from the coast ; where, 
in case of defeat, they might have been prevented from 
returning to their ships; and the}^ enjoined him " not to 
employ the seamen in like manner in future." This 
reprimand was issued before the event was known ; though, 
indeed, the event would not affect the principle upon 
Avhich it proceeded. When Nelson communicated the 
tidings of his complete success he said, in his public letter, 
' ' that it would not be the less acceptable for having been 
principally brought about by British sailors." His judg- 
ment in thus employing them had been justiiied by the 
result; and his joy was evidently heightened by the gratifica- 
tion of a professional and becoming pride. To the First 
Lord he said, at the same time, " I certainly, from having 
only a left hand, cannot enter into details which may ex- 
plain the motives that actuated my conduct. My principle 
is, to assist in driving the French to the devil, and in 
restoring peace and happiness to mankind. I feel that I 
am fitter to do the action than to describe it." He then 
added, that he would take care of Minorca. 



1799] THE LIFE OF NELSON 179 

In expelling the French from Naples, Nelson had, with 
characteristic zeal and ability, discharged his duty; but he 
deceived himself, when he imagined that he had seated 
Ferdinand firmly on his throne, and that he had restored 
happiness to millions. These objects might have been ac- 
complished if it had been possible to inspire virtue and 
wisdom into a vicious and infatuated court; and if Nel- 
son's eyes had not been, as it were, spell-bound by that 
unhappy attachment which had now completely mastered 
him, he would have seen things as they were; and might, 
perhaps, have awakened the Sicilian court to a sense of 
their interest, if not of their duty. That court employed 
itself in a miserable round of folly and festivity, while the 
prisons of Naples were filled with groans, and the scaffolds 
streamed with blood. St. Januarius was solemnly removed 
from his rank as patron saint of the kingdom, having been 
convicted of Jacobinism; and St. Antonio as solemnly in- 
stalled in his place. The King, instead of re-establishing 
order at Naples by his presence, speedily returned to Pal- 
ermo, to indulge in his favourite amusements.^ Nelson, 

^ " Sometimes the fleet made short trips to sea ; not to look after 
the enemy, but to gratify the king and Lady Hamilton ; particularly 
the last, who appeared in the Admiral's barge like Cleopatra. (See 
Antony and Cleopatra, Act II., Sc. ii.) . . . One of these dis- 
graceful scenes is thus described by an eye-witness : The ships were 
all decorated with flags, firing salutes, and manning the yards, as 
the royal party sailed along, followed by above 1,000 boats, in 
many of which were bands of music playing, Nelson and Lady 
Hamilton leading the van, in a twelve-oared barge. The king, in 
one of eight oars, was not paid much attention to ; but he amused 
himself with the princely sport of shooting sea-gulls. The whole 
party visited the Minotaur, . . . where they partook of a cold 
collation, and returned in procession to the Foudroyaiit. . . . The 
dinner on board was served on tables reaching the whole length of 
two decks ; the cannon being even removed to make way for fruit 
and chocolate tables on each side. This degrading spectacle, so 
unbecoming a British ship of war, afl:ected Lord Nelson very seri- 
ously ; and he could not help showing his feelings, though unfor- 
tunately his resentment was soon dispelled by that charm which 
then bound him in spite of his understanding. He left the dinner 
party very early ; and, taking a turn or two upon the quarter-deck 
with one of his officers, appeared for a little while extremely agi- 
tated ; and, at last, as he looked at the strange scene before him, 
he muttered : ' Curse upon such doings ! I wish there was an end 
of them. My ship looks for all the world like a pastry-cook's shop ! ' " 
— Lady Hamilton's Ilemoirs, p. 308. The historian Mitford, who 



180 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1799 

and the ambassador's family^ accompanied the court; and 
Troubridge remained^, groaning over the villany and friv- 
olity of those with whom he was compelled to deal. A 
party of officers applied to him for a passage to Palermo, 
to see the procession of St. Eosalia: — he recommended 
them to exercise their troops, and not behave like children. 
It was grief enough for him that the court should be bus- 
ied in these follies, and Nelson involved in them. "I 
dread, my Lord," said he, ''all the feasting, etc., at Pal- 
ermo. I am sure your health will be hurt. If so, all their 
saints will be damned by the ISTavy. The King would be 
better employed digesting a good government: every 
thing gives way to their pleasures. The money spent at 
Palermo gives discontent here : fifty thousand people are 
unemployed, trade discouraged, manufactures at a stand. 
It is the interest of many here to keep the King away: 
they all dread reform. Their villanies are so deeply 
rooted, that, if some method is not taken to dig them out, 
this government cannot hold together. Out of twenty 
millions of ducats, collected as the revenue, only thirteen 
millions reach the treasury ; and the King pays four ducats 
where he should pay one. He is surrounded by thieves; 
and none of them have honour or honesty ^ enough to tell 
him the real and true state of things." In another letter, 
he expressed his sense of the miserable state of Naples. 
" There are upwards of forty thousand families," said he, 
"who have relations confined. If some act of oblivion 
is not passed, there will be no end of persecution; for the 
people of this country have no idea of anything but re- 
venge; and, to gain a point, would swear ten thousand 
false oaths. Constant efforts are made to get a man taken 
up in order to rob him. The confiscated property does not 
reach the King's treasury. — All thieves! It is selling for 
nothing. His own people, whom he employs, are buying 
it up, and the vagabonds pocket the whole. I should not 
be surprised to hear that they brought a bill of expenses 
against him for the sale." 

The Sicilian court, however, were at this time duly 
sensible of the services which had been rendered them by 

had evidently seen what he related, said that " Lady Hamilton at 
Palermo frequently accompanied Nelson in nocturnal rambles, dressed 
in sailor's clothes." 

^ What is the difference between honor and honesty ? 



1799] THE LIFE OF NELSON 181 

the British fleet, and their gratitude to Nelson was shown 
with proper and princely munificence. — They gave him 
the dukedom and domain of Bronte,^ worth about 3000?. 
a-year. It was some days before he could be persuaded to 
accept it: the argument which finally prevailed is said 
to have been suggested by the Queen, and urged, at her 
request, by Lady Hamilton, upon her knees. "He con- 
sidered his own honour too much, ' ' she said, ' ' if he per- 
sisted in refusing what the King and Queen felt to be 
absolutely necessary for the preservation of theirs." The 
King himself, also, is said to have addressed him in words 
which show that the sense of rank will sometimes confer 
a virtue upon those who seem to be most unworthy of the 
lot to which they have been born: "Lord Nelson, do you 
wish that your name alone should pass with honour to pos- 
terity; and that I, Ferdinand Bourbon, should appear un- 
grateful ? " He gave him also, when the dukedom was 
accepted, a diamond-hilted sword, which his father, Charles 
III. of Spain, had given him, on his accession to the throne 
of the Two Sicilies. Nelson said, " The reward was mag- 
nificent, and worthy of a king, and he was determined 
that the inhabitants on the domain should be the happiest 
in all his Sicilian Majesty's dominions. — Yet," said he, 
speaking of these and the other remunerations which were 
made him for his services, "these presents, rich as they 
are, do not elevate me. My pride is, that, at Constanti- 
nople, from the Grand Seignior to the lowest Turk, the 
name of Nelson is familiar in their mouths; and in this 
country I am everything which a grateful monarch and 
people can call me." Nelson, however, had a pardonable 
pride in the outward and visible signs of honour, which 
he had so fairly won. He was fond of his Sicilian title; 
the signification, perhaps, pleased him ; — Duke of Thunder 
was what in Dahomy would be called a strong name ; ^ it 

^ Bronte is Greek for " thunder." 

2 Did Scott have this title in mind when he wrote in the Introduc- 
tion to Marmion, 1. 78, the following lines about Nelson ? 

" To him, as to the burning levin, 
Short, bright, resistless course was given, 
Where'er his country's foes were found, 
Was heard the fated thunder's sound. 
Till burst the bolt on yonder shore, 
Eoll'd, blazed, destroyed,— and was no more." 

Why should the name be called a strong one in Dahomy more than 

elsewhere ? 



18S TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1799 

was to a sailor's taste; and, certainly, to no man could 
it ever be more applicable. But a simple offering, which 
he received not long afterwards, from the island of Zante, 
affected him with a deeper and finer feeling. The Grreeks 
of that little community sent him a golden-headed sword, 
and a truncheon, set round with all the diamonds that the 
island could furnish, in a single row. They thanked him 
''for having, by his victory, preserved that part of Greece 
from the horrors of anarchy; and prayed that his exploits 
might accelerate the day, in which, amidst the glory and 
peace of thrones, the miseries of the human race would 
cease." This unexpected tribute touched N"elson to the 
heart. "No officer," he said, "had ever received from 
any country a higher acknowledgment of his services." 

The French still occupied the Eoman states; from which, 
according to their own admission, they had extorted, in 
jewels, plate, specie, and requisitions of every kind, to the 
enormous amount of eight millions sterling: yet they 
affected to appear as deliverers among the people whom 
they were thus cruelly plundering; and they distributed 
portraits of Buonaparte, with the blasphemous inscription 
— "This is the true likeness of the Holy Saviour of the 
world ! ' ' The people, detesting the impiety, and groaning 
beneath the exactions, of these perfidious robbers, were 
ready to join any regular force that should come to their 
assistance; bat they dreaded Cardinal Ruffo's rabble, and 
declared they would resist them as banditti, who came only 
for the purpose of pillage. Nelson perceived that no object 
was now so essential for the tranquillity of Naples as the 
recovery of Eome; which, in the present state of things, 
when Suvarof was driving the Erench before him, would 
complete the deliverance of Italy. He applied, there- 
fore, to Sir James St. Clair Erskine, who, in the absence 
of G-eneral Fox, commanded at Minorca, to assist in this 
great object with twelve hundred men. " The field of 
glory," said he, "is a large one, and was never more open 
to any one than at this moment to you. Eome would 
throw open her gates, and receive you as her deliverer : and 
the Pope would owe his restoration to a heretic." But Sir 
James Erskine looked only at the difficulties of the under- 
taking. " Twelve hundred men, he thought, would be 
too small a force to be committed in such an enterprise; 



1799] THE LIFE OF NELSON 183 

for Civita Veccliia was a regular fortress. The local situ- 
ation and climate, also, were such, that, even if this force 
were adequate, it would be proper to delay the expedi- 
tion till October. General Fox, too, was soon expected ; and 
during his absence, and under existing circumstances, he 
did not feel justified in sending away such a detachment." 
What this general thought it imprudent to attempt, 
Nelson and Troubridge effected without his assistance, by a 
small detachment from the fleet. Troubridge first sent 
Captain Hallowell to Civita Vecchia, to offer the garrison 
there, and at Castle St. Angelo, the same terms which had 
been granted to Gaeta. Hallowell perceived, by the over- 
strained civility of the officers who came off to him, and 
the compliments which they paid to the English nation, 
that they were sensible of their own weakness, and their 
inability to offer any effectual resistance; but the Erencli 
know, that while they are in a condition to serve their gov- 
ernment, they can rely upon it for every possible exertion 
in their support; and this reliance gives them hope and 
confidence to the last. Upon Hallowell 's report, Trou- 
bridge, who had now been made Sir Thomas for his ser- 
vices, sent Captain Louis, with a squadron, to enforce the 
terms which he had offered ; and, as soon as he could leave 
Naples, he himself followed. The French, who had no 
longer any hope from the fate of arms, relied upon their 
skill in negotiation, and proposed terms to Troubridge 
with that effrontery which characterises their public pro- 
ceedings; but which is as often successful as it is impu- 
dent. They had a man of the right stamp to deal with. 
Their ambassador at Eome began by saying, that the Eoman 
territory was the property of the French by right of con- 
quest. The British Commodore settled that point, by re- 
plying, "It is mine by reconquest." A capitulation was 
soon concluded for all the Eoman states, and Ca]3tain Louis 
rowed up the Tiber in his barge, hoisted English colours 
on the capitol, and acted, for the time, as governor of 
Eome. The prophecy of the Irish poet ^ w^as thus accom- 
plished, and the friar reaped the fruits: for Nelson, who 
was struck with the oddity of the circumstance, and not a 
little pleased with it, obtained preferment for him from the 
King of Sicily, and recommended him to the Pope. 

* See page 159. 



184 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1799 

Having thus completed liis work upon the continent of 
Italy^ N'elson's whole attention was directed towards Malta, 
where Captain Ball, with most inadequate means, was 
besieging the French garrison. Never was any officer en- 
gaged in a more anxious and painful service : the smallest 
reinforcement from France would, at any moment, have 
turned the scale against him; and had it not been for his 
consummate ability, and the love and veneration with 
which the Maltese regarded him, Malta must have re- 
mained in the hands of the enemy. Men, money, food, 
— all things were wanting. The garrison consisted of five 
thousand troops, the besieging force of five hundred Eng- 
lish and Portuguese marines, and about fifteen hundred 
armed peasants. Long and repeatedly did Nelson solicit 
troops to effect the reduction of this important place. 

'"It has been no fault of the Navy," said he, "that 
Malta has not been attacked by land, but we have neither 
the means ourselves, nor influence with those who have." 
Tlie same causes of demurral existed which prevented 
British troops from assisting in the expulsion of the 
French from Eome. Sir James Erskine was expecting 
General Fox; he could not act without orders; and not 
having, like Nelson, that lively spring of hope within him, 
which partakes enough of the nature of faith to work mir- 
acles in war, he thought it ' ' evident, that unless a respect- 
able land force, in numbers sufficient to undertake the 
siege of such a garrison, in one of the strongest places of 
Europe, and supplied with proportionate artillery and 
stores, were sent against it, no reasonable hope could be 
entertained of its surrender." Nelson groaned over the 
spirit of over-reasoning caution, and unreasoning obedi- 
ence. "My heart," said he, " is almost broken. If the 
enemy gets supplies in, we may bid adieu to Malta; all the 
force we can collect would then be of little use against the 
strongest place in Europe. To say that an officer is never, 
for any object, to alter his orders, is what I cannot com- 
prehend. The circumstances of this war so often vary, 
that an officer has almost every moment to consider. What 
would my superiors direct did they know what is passing 
under my nose? But, sir," said he, writing to the Duke 
of Clarence, "I find few think as I do. To obey orders 
is all perfection. To serve my king, and to destroy the 



1800] TEE LIFE OF NELSON 185 

French, I consider as the great order of all, from which 
little ones spring; and if one of these militate against it 
(for who can tell exactly at a distance ?) I go back and 
obey the great order and object, to down — down with the 
damned French villains! My blood boils at the name of 
Frenchman ! ' ' 

At length General Fox arrived at Minorca, — and, at 
length, permitted Colonel Graham to go to Malta, but with 
means miserably limited. In fact, the expedition was at a 
stand for want of money; when Troubridge arriving at Mes- 
sina, to co-operate in it, and finding this fresh delay, im- 
mediately offered all that he could command of his own. 
"I procured him, my lord," said he to Nelson, "fifteen 
thousand of my cobs '} — every farthing, and every atom of me 
shall be devoted to the cause." " What can this mean ? " 
said Nelson, when he learnt that Colonel Graham was 
ordered not to incur any expense for stores, or any articles 
except provisions, — " the cause cannot stand still for want 
of a little money. If nobody will pay it, I will sell Bronte, 
and the Emperor of Eussia's box. ' ' ^ And he actually pledged 
Bronte for 6600/., if there should be any difficulty about 
paying the bills. The long delayed expedition was thus, at 
last, set forth; but Troubridge little imagined in what 
scenes of misery he was to bear his part. He looked to Sicily 
for supplies ; it was the interest, as well as the duty, of the 
Sicilian government to use every exertion for furnishing 
them; and Nelson and the British Ambassador were on 
the spot to press upon them the necessity of exertion. But 
though Nelson saw with what a knavish crew the Sicilian 
court was surrounded, he was blind to the vices of the 
court itself, and resigning himself wholly to Lady Hamil- 
ton's influence, never even suspected the crooked policy 
which it was remorselessly pursuing. The Maltese, and 
the British in Malta, severely felt it. Troubridge, who 
had the truest affection for Nelson, knew his infatuation, 
and feared that it might prove injurious to his character, 
as well as fatal to an enterprise which had begun so well, 
and been carried on so patiently. ' ^ My Lord, ' ' said he, 

^ Nautical slang for " dollars ; " some of the sailors had been paid 
in Spanish dollars taken from Spanish ships ; it is said that the term 
" cob " is still common in Gibraltar for Spanish dollars. 

' See p. 140. 



186 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1800 

writing to him from the siege, " we are dying off fast from 
want. I learn that Sir William Hamilton says Prince Luzzi 
refnsed corn some time agO;, and Sir William does not 
think it worth while making another application. If that 
be the case, I wish he commanded this distressing scene 
instead of me. Puglia had an immense harvest: near 
thirty sail left Messina, before I did, to load corn. Will 
they let us have any ? If not, a short time will decide the 
business. The German interest prevails. I wish I was at 
your lordship's elbow for an hour. All, all, will be thrown 
on you ! I will parry the blow as much as is in my power. 
I foresee much mischief brewing. God bless your lordship ! 
I am miserable; I cannot assist your operations more. 
Many happy returns of the day to you (it was the iirst of 
the new year); I never spent so miserable a one. I am 
not very tender-hearted, but really the distress here would 
even move a Neapolitan." Soon afterwards he wrote, "I 
have this day saved thirty thousand people from starving, 
but with this day my ability ceases. As the government 
are bent on starving us, I see no alternative but to leave 
these poor, unhappy people to perish without our being 
witnesses of their distress. I curse the day I ever served 
the Neapolitan government. — We have characters, my 
Lord, to lose; these people have none. Do not suffer their 
infamous conduct to fall on us. Our country is just, but 
severe. Such is the fever of my brain this minute, that 
I assure you, on my honour, if the Palermo traitors were 
here, I would shoot them first and then myself. Girgenti 
is full of corn; the money is ready to pay for it; we do 
not ask it as a gift. Oh ! could you see the horrid distress 
I daily experience, something would be done. — Some en- 
gine is at work against us at Naples, and I believe I hit 
on the proper person. If you complain, he will be imme- 
diately promoted, agreeably to the Neapolitan custom. All 
I write to you is known at the Queen's. For my own part, 
I look upon the Neapolitans as the worst of intriguing 
enemies : every hour shows me their infamy and duplicity. 
I pray your lordship be cautious : your honest, open man- 
ner of acting will be made a handle of. When I see you, 
and tell of their infamous tricks, you will be as much sur- 
prised as I am. The whole will fall on you." 

Nelson was not, and could not be, insensible to the dis- 



1800] THE LIFE OF NELSON 187 

tress which his friend so earnestly represented. He begged, 
almost on his knees, he said, small supplies of money and 
corn, to keep the Maltese from starving. And when the 
court granted a small supply, protesting their poverty, he 
believed their protestations, and was satisfied with their 
professions, instead of insisting that the restrictions upon 
the exportation of corn should be withdrawn. The anx- 
iety, however, which he endured affected him so deeply, 
that he said it had broken his spirit for ever. Happily all 
that Troubridge, with so much reason, foreboded, did not 
come to pass. For Captain Ball, with more decision than 
Nelson himself would have shown at that time and upon 
that occasion, ventured upon a resolute measure, for which 
his name would deserve always to be held in veneration by 
the Maltese, even if it had no other claims to the love and 
reverence of a grateful people. Finding it hopeless longer 
to look for succour or common humanity from the deceit- 
ful and infatuated court of Sicily, which persisted in pro- 
hibiting, by sanguinary edicts, the exportation of supplies, 
at his own risk he sent his First Lieutenant to the port of 
Messina, with orders to seize, and bring with him to Malta, 
the ships which were there lying laden with corn, — of the 
number of which he had received accurate information.^ 
These orders were executed to the great delight and advan- 
tage of the shipowners and proprietors; the necessity of 
raising the siege was removed, and Captain Ball waited in 
calmness for the consequences to himself. " But, " said Mr. 
Coleridge,^ ''^not a complaint, not a murmur, proceeded 
from the court of I^aples: the sole result was, that the 
governor of Malta became an especial object of its hatred, 
its fear, and its respect. ' ' 

E"elson himself, at the beginning of February, sailed for 
that island. On the way he fell in with a French squadron 
bound for its relief, and consisting of the Genereux, 
seventy-four, three frigates, and a corvette. One of these 
frigates and the line of battle ship were taken ; ^ the others 
escaped, but failed in their purpose of reaching La Valetta. 

^ It was done by Nelson's orders. 

2 Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), the great author of the 
Rime of the Ancient Marmer. In 1804, for nine months, he acted 
as private secretary to Captain Ball. 

^ W. Clark Russell gives an admirable description of the capture 
of Le Genereux. See his Life of Nelsofi, pp. 150-153. 



188 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1800 

This success was peculiarly gratifying to Nelson^ for many 
reasons. During some months he had acted as Com- 
mander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean^ while Lord Keith 
was in England. Lord Keith was now returned^ and Nel- 
son had, upon his own plan and at his own risk, left him, 
to sail for Malta; "for which," said he, " if I had not 
succeeded, I might have been broke; and if I had not acted 
thus, the Genereux never would have been taken." This 
ship was one of those which had escaped from Aboukir. 
Two frigates and the Guillaume Tell, eighty-six, were all 
that now remained of the fleet which Buonaparte had con- 
ducted to Egypt. The Guillmime Tell was at this time 
closely watched in the harbour of La Yaletta; and shortly 
afterwards, attempting to make her escape from thence, 
was taken, after an action in which greater skill was never 
displayed by British ships, nor greater gallantry by an 
enemy. ^ She was taken by the Foudroyant, Lion, and 
Penelojoe frigate. JSTelson, rejoicing at what he called this 
glorious finish to the whole French Mediterranean fleet, 
rejoiced also that he was not present to have taken a sprig 
of these brave men's laurels. " They are," said he, " and 
I glory in them, my children; they served in my school; 
and all of us caught our professional zeal and fire from the 
great and good Earl St. Vincent. What a pleasure, what 
happiness, to have the ISTile fleet all taken under my orders 
and regulations ! ' ' The two frigates still remained in La 
Valetta : before its surrender they stole out : one was taken 
in the attempt; the other was the only ship of the whole 
fleet which escaped capture or destruction. 

Letters were found on board the Guillaume Tell showing 
that the French were now becoming hopeless of preserving 
the conquest which they had so foully acquired. Trou- 

^ As the Guillaume Tell ran out of the harbor she was discovered 
by the Penelope, which pursued at great risk, keeping up a constant 
fire to attract the other ships. As the frigate outsailed the huge 
Frenchman, Captain Blackwood was enabled to manoeuvre as Nelson 
had done with the (^a Ira on a similar occasion (p. 74) ; and, by 
remaining under her stern, yawing now to port and now to star- 
board, damaged her much and escaped destruction himself, as the 
enemy did not dare to come to and fire his broadside at his puny 
antagonist. Toward morning the Lion, sixty-four guns, engaged 
the foe yard-arm to yard-arm, but was quickly forced to drop astern. 
It was only when the Foudroyant also appeared that she was finally 
taken. Study Capt. Blackwood's career inductively. 



1800] THE LIFE OF NELSON 189 

bridge and his brother officers were anxious that Nelson 
should have the honour of signing the capitulation. They 
told him that they absolutely^ as far as they dared, insisted 
on his staying to do this ; but their earnest and affectionate 
entreaties were vain. Sir William Hamilton had just been 
superseded; Nelson had no feeling of cordiality towards 
Lord Keith; and thinking that, after Earl St. Vincent, 
no man had so good a claim to the command in the Medi- 
terranean as himself, he applied for permission to return 
to England; telling the First Lord of the Admiralty, that 
his spirit could not submit patiently, and that he was a 
broken-hearted man. From the time of his return from. 
Egypt, amid all the honours which were showered upon 
him, he had suffered many mortifications. Sir Sidney 
Smith had been sent to Egypt, with orders to take under 
his command the squadron which Nelson had left there. 
Sir Sidney appears to have thought that this command was 
to be independent of Nelson : and Nelson himself think- 
ing so, determined to return, saying to Earl St. Vincent, 
"I do feel, for I am a man, that it is impossible for me 
to serve in these seas with a squadron under a junior offi- 
cer." Earl St. Vincent seems to have dissuaded him 
from this resolution: some heart-burnings, however, still 
remained, and some incautious expressions of Sir Sidney's 
were noticed by him in terms of evident displeasure. But 
this did not continue long, as no man bore more willing 
testimony than Nelson to the admirable defence of Acre.^ 
He differed from Sir Sidney as to the policy which ought 
to be pursued towards the French in Egypt; and strictly 
commanded him, in the strongest language, not, on any 
pretence, to permit a single Frenchman to leave the coun- 
try, saying that he considered it nothing short of -madness 
to permit that band of thieves to return to Europe. ' ' No, ' ' 
said he, " to Egypt they went with their own consent, and 
there they shall remain, while Nelson commands this 
squadron; for never, never will he consent to the return 
of one ship or Frenchman. I wish them to perish in 
Egypt, and give an awful lesson to the world of the justice 

^ Sh Sidney commanded a mixed force of Turks and English at 
the siege of this place, the failure of which ruined Bonaparte's plans 
of conquest in the East. Indeed, he himself said of Sir Sidney : 
" That man made me miss my destiny." 



190 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1800 

of the Almighty." If Nelson had not thoroughly under- 
stood the character of the enemy against whom he was 
engaged, their conduct in Egypt would have disclosed it. 
After the battle of the Nile, he had landed all his prison- 
ers, upon a solemn engagement, made between Trou- 
bridge on one side and Captain Barre on the other, that 
none of them should serve till regularly exchanged. 
They were no sooner on shore than part of them were 
drafted into the different regiments, and the remainder 
formed into a corps called the nautic legion. This occa- 
sioned Captain Hallowell to say that the French had for- 
feited all claim to respect from us. " Tlie army of Buona- 
parte," said he, "are entirely destitute of every principle 
of honour: they have always acted like licentious thieves." 
Buonaparte's escape ^ was the more regretted by Nelson, be- 
cause, if he had had sufficient force, he thought it would 
certainly have been prevented. He wished to keep shijDs 
upon the watch to intercept anything coming from Egypt; 
but the Admiralty calculated upon the assistance of the 
Russian fleet, which failed when it was most wanted. QThe 
ships which should have been thus employed were thenl^e-, 
quired for more pressing services, and the bloody Corsicanj 
was thus enabled to reach Europe in safety, there to be-i 
come the guilty instrument of a wider-spreading destruc- 
tion than any with which the world had ever before been 
visited. 

Nelson had other causes of chagrin. Earl St. Vincent, 
for whom he felt such high respect, and whom Sir John 
Orde had challenged for having nominated Nelson instead 
of himself to the command of the Nile squadron, laid 
claim to prize-money, as Commander-in-Chief, after he 
had quitted the station. The point was contested, and de- 
cided against him.^ Nelson, perhaps, felt this the more, 
because his own feelings, with regard to money, were so 
different. An opinion had been given by Dr. Lawrence, 
which would have excluded the junior Flag officers from 
prize-money. When this was made known to him, his 
reply was in these words: "Notwithstanding Dr. Law- 

^ He returned to France in 1799, leaving his army behind in 
Egypt. 

■^ The decision was finally reversed, in 1803, an award of £13,000 
being made to Nelson. 



1800] THE LIFE OF NELSON 191 

rence's opinion, I do not believe I have any right to exclude 
the junior Flag officers: and if I have, I desire that no 
such claim may be made : no, not if it were sixty times the 
sum, and, poor as I am, I were never to see prize-money." ^ 
A ship could not be spared to convey him to England; 
he, therefore, travelled through Germany to Hamburgh, 
in company with his inseparable friends. Sir William and 
Lady Hamilton. The Queen of Naples went with them 
to Vienna. While they were at Leghorn, upon a report 
that the French were approaching (for, through the folly 
of weak courts, and the treachery of venal cabinets, they 
had now recovered their ascendancy in Italy), the people 
rose tumultuously, and would fain have persuaded Nelson 
to lead them against the enemy. Public honours, and yet 
more gratifying testimonials of public admiration, awaited 
JSTelson wherever he went. The Prince of Esterhazy en- 
tertained him in a style of Hungarian magnificence — a 
hundred grenadiers, each six feet in height, constantly 
waiting at table. ^ At Magdeburgh, the master of the hotel 
where he was entertained contrived to show him for money; 
— admitting the curious to mount a ladder, and peep at him 
through a small window. A wine-merchant at Hamburgh, 
who was above seventy years of age, requested to speak 
with Lady Hamilton; and told her he had some Rhenish 
wine, of the vintage of 1625, which had been in his own 
possession more than half a century : he had preserved it 
for some extraordinary occasion; and that which had now 
arrived was far beyond any that he could ever have ex- 
pected. His request was, that her ladyship would prevail 
upon Lord Nelson to accept six dozen of this incomparable 
wine : part of it would then have the honour to flow into 
the heart's blood of that immortal hero; and this thought 

' Miss Knight tells us that at this time Nelson's cabin was adorned 
with a huge three-cornered wooden plume taken from the figure-head 
of the Guillaume Tell, four muskets from the San Josef, and the 
flag-staff of U Orient. 

^ " A grand concert was also given in the chapel, under the direc- 
tion of Haydn, whose oratorio of the Creation was performed in 
honor of the guests." — Memoirs of Lady Hamilton, p. 215. At 
Prague the hotel where the travellers stopped was splendidly illu- 
minated in honor of the hero ; and the host, in a spirit of generosity 
that would delight Mark Twain, sent in a bill in which Nelson was 
charged for every candle thus used. 



192 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1800 

would make liim happy during the remainder of his life. 
Nelson, when this singular request was reported to him, 
went into the room, and taking tlie worthy old gentleman 
kindly by the hand, consented to receive six bottles, pro- 
vided the donor would dine with him next day. Twelve 
were sent; and ]S[elson, saying that he hoped yet to win 
half a dozen more great victories, promised to lay by six 
bottles of his Hamburgh friend's wine for the purpose of 
drinking one after each. — A German pastor, between 
seventy and eighty years of age, travelled forty miles, with 
the Bible of his parish church, to request that JSTelson 
would write his name on the first leaf of it. He called 
him the Saviour of the Christian world. The old man's 
hope deceived him. There was no Nelson upon shore, or 
Europe would have been saved ; but, in his foresight of the 
horrors with which all Germany and all Christendom were 
threatened by France, the pastor could not possibly have 
apprehended more than has actually taken place. 



CHAPTEE VII. 

Nelson separates himself from his wife — Northern Confederacy — 
He goes to the Baltic under Sir Hyde Parker — Battle of Copenhagen, 
and subsequent Negotiation — Nelson is made a Viscount. 

Nelson was welcomed in England with every mark of 
popular honour. 1 At Yarmouth, where he landed, every 
ship in the harbour hoisted her colours. The mayor and 
corporation waited upon him with the freedom of the 
town, and accompanied him in procession to church, with 
all the naval officers on shore, and the principal inhabi- 
tants. Bonfires and illuminations concluded the day; and, 
on the morrow, the volunteer cavalry drew up and saluted 
him as he departed, and followed the carriage to the borders 
of the county. At Ipswich, the people came out to meet 
^im, drew him a mile into the town, and three miles out. 
When he was in the Agamemnon, he wished to repr§sent 
this place in Parliament, and some of his friends had con- 
sulted the leading men of the corporation ; the result was 
not successful: and Nelson observing, that he would en- 
deavour to find out a preferable path into Parliament, said 
there might come a time when the people of Ipswich 
would think it an honour to have had him for their repre- 
sentative.^ In London, he was feasted by the city, drawn 
by the populace from Ludgate-hill to Guildhall, and re- 
ceived the thanks of the Common Council for his great 
victory, and a golden-hilted sword studded with diamonds. 

^ His reception by the king was a cold one. CoUingwood, writing 
January 25, 1801, says : "His Majesty merely asked him if he had 
recovered his health, and then, without waiting for an answer, 

turned to Gen. , and talked to him for near half an hour in 

great good humour. It could not have been about his successes ! " 

^ Macaulay was similarly treated by the city of Edinburgh, and in 
like manner lived to see the day when the people who had passed 
him by were most eager to do him honor. Consult the biography of 
him by George Otto Trevelyan, a model of all that a life should be, 
vol. ii., chaps, x. and xiii. 

13 



194 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

ISTelson had every earthly blessing, except domestic happi- 
ness : he had forfeited that forever. Before he had been 
three months in England, he separated from Lady Nelson. 
Some of his last words to her were: "I call God to wit- 
ness, there is nothing in you, or your conduct, that I wish 
otherwise." This was the consequence of his infatuated 
attachment to Lady Hamilton. It had before caused a 
quarrel with his son-in-law, and occasioned remonstrances 
from his truest friends; which produced no other effect 
than that of making him displeased with them, and more 
dissatisfied with himself.^ 

^ Upon his arrival in England, after an absence during which he 
had made her a peeress and himself famous, to say nothing of win- 
ning a fortune, Nelson had the right to expect a cordial welcome 
from Lady Nelson. But he received no welcome at all. When he 
was sick and wounded a loving wife would have gone to Italy to 
nurse him, instead of writing frigid epistles in the style of a copy- 
book and leaving him, who was vain and susceptible as a child, to 
the designing arts of an unprincipled and fascinating woman. 
Lady Nelson did not even meet her husband at Yarmouth, where he 
landed. Undoubtedly rumors of his attachment to Lady Hamilton 
had reached her ears already. Probably she had already condemned 
him on hearsay. That there was abundant cause on her part for 
indignation and disgust there is not the shadow of a doubt. The 
result^ was that husband and wife met with feelings of mutual weari- 
ness and distrust. The wretched drama drew quickly to its melan- 
choly close. Four acts in it are recorded. Shortly after his return 
the Nelsons and Hamiltons attended the theatre together. During the 
performance Lady Nelson, unable to control her feelings, fainted in 
the box in which they were sitting. On one occasion, when the Nel- 
sons were entertaining a numerous company at dinner, Lady Hamilton, 
being ill or enraged, it is uncertain which, retired to a private room 
and remained there until Nelson grew impatient at her absence, and 
harshly demanded of Lady Nelson where she was and who was with 
her. Lady Nelson replied that her own woman had been sent to 
attend her ladyship, whereupon he flew into a passion and insisted 
that she should herself go instantly to wait upon Lady Hamilton. 
Lady Nelson meekly complied ; but soon Nelson, full of impatience, 
followed and found his wife performing a service for Lady Hamil- 
ton which was certainly a mark of extreme humility and condescen- 
sion. Instead of being mollified by this sight, Nelson roughly ac- 
cused Lady Nelson of causing Lady Hamilton's sickness by her cruel 
treatment. Thereupon the unfortunate wife appealed to the sick 
woman, asking her if she had in any way used her ill. Even Lady 
Hamilton was unable to resist such a plea. She roused herself from 
her lethargy and declared that there was no cause for her to be dis- 
satisfied with the treatment that she had received. This produced 
a fresh outburst of wrath from Nelson, who turned upon his visitor 



1801] TEE LIFE OF NELSON I95 

The Adclington Administration^ was jnst at this time 
formed; and Nelson^ who had solicited employment, and 
been made Vice- Admiral of the Blue, was sent to the Baltic, 
as second in command, under Sir Hyde Parker, by Earl 
St. Vincent, the new First Lord of the Admiralty.^ 
The three JSTorthern Courts had formed a confederacy for 
making England resign her naval rights. Of these courts 
Russia was guided by the passions of its Emperor, Paul, a 
man not without fits of generosity, and some natural good- 
ness, but subject to the Avildest humours of caprice, and 

and accused her of basely deceiving him by telling him tales of his 
wife's incivility to her. At this Lady Hamilton Jumped up, seized 
Lady Nelson by the arm, swung her about the room, and tauntingly 
said : " There, madam, serve him as I have served you, and he will 
know better how to behave himself." On December 19, Nelson set 
out with the Hamiltons to visit Mr. Beckford, the author of Vathek, 
at Fonthill in Wiltshire, leaving Lady Nelson to spend her Christ- 
mas in London alone. On December 29 he returned to London, and 
shortly after the final rupture with Lady Nelson came. It is said to 
have happened as follows : One morning, when a friend w^as break- 
fasting with the Nelsons, the host happened to speak of something 
that had been said or done by 'dear Lady Hamilton,' whereupon 
Lady Nelson rose from her chair and exclaimed : " I am sick of hear- 
ing of ' dear Lady Hamilton ' and am resolved that you shall give up 
either her or me." Nelson replied : "Take care, Fanny, what you 
say ; I love you sincerely, but cannot forget my obligations to Lady 
Hamilton, or speak of her otherwise than with respect and admira- 
tion." Declaring that her mind was made up Lady Nelson left the 
room and soon after drove from the house. Nelson probably saw 
her for the last time January 13, 1800, the day when he left London 
for the Baltic. His last letter to her was written from the St. George 
off Copenhagen, March 1, 1801. On April 25, 1801, he wrote to 
Alexander Davison as follov/s : " You will, at a proper time, and 
before my arrival in England, signify to Lady Nelson that I expect, 
and for w^hich 1 have made such a very liberal allowance to her 
(£1,600 a year), to be left to myself, and without any inquiries from 
her, for sooner than live the unhappy life I did when I last came to 
England, I would stay abroad forever." — Eispatclies, vol. vii., pp. 
209, 391 ; Laughton, Life of Nelson, pp. 152, 154 ; Memoirs of Lady 
Eamilton, pp. 221-225. 

^ For the Addington Administration, see Gardiner, Eistory of 
E7igland, p. 843 ; Green, Eistory of Efigland, pp. 818, 820. For the 
immediate occasion of the rupture, consult Bussell's Nelso7i, p. 168 ; 
and Mahan's Infltience of Sea Poiver on French Revolution, vol. ii., 
pp. 26-38. See also Laughton, Nelson, p. 156, and the note on p. 28 
of this book. 

^ At first he was given for his flag-ship the San Josef, which was 
chosen for him by Earl St. Vincent because he had himself cap- 
tured her. (See p. 101.) Then he shifted to the St. George. 



196 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

crazed by tlie possession of greater power than can ever be 
safely, or perhaps innocently, possessed by weak human- 
ity. Denmark was French at heart; ready to co-operate in 
all the views of France, to recognise all her usurpations, 
and obey all her injunctions.^ Sweden, under a king 
whose principles were right, and whose feelings were gen- 
erous, but who had a taint of hereditary insanity, acted 
in acquiescence with the dictates of two powers whom it 
feared to oifend. The Danish Navy, at this time, consisted 
of twenty-three ships of the line, with about thirty-one 
frigates and smaller vessels, exclusive of guard shijDS. The 
Swedes had eighteen ships of the line, fourteen frigates 
and sloops, seventy-four galleys^ and smaller vessels, be- 
sides gun boats; and this force was in a far better state of 
equipment than the Danish. The Kussians had eighty- 
two sail of the line and forty frigates. Of these, there 
were forty-seven sail of the line at Cronstadt, Eevel, 
Petersburg, and Archangel : but the Eussian fleet was ill 
manned, ill officered, and ill equi23ped. Such a combina- 
tion, under the influence of France, would soon have be- 
come formidable; and never did the British cabinet dis- 
play more decision than in instantly preparing to crush it. 
They erred, however, in permitting any petty consideration 
to prevent them from appointing JSTelson to the command. 
The public properly murmured at seeing it entrusted to 
another: and he himself said to Earl St. Vincent, that, 
circumstanced as he was, this expedition would probably 
be the last service that he should ever perform. The 
Earl, in reply, besought him, for Grod's sake, not to suffer 
himself to be carried away by any sudden impulse. 

The season happened to be unusually favourable; so 
mild a winter had not been known in the Baltic for many 
years. When Nelson joined the fleet at Yarmouth, he 
found the Admiral " a little nervous about dark nights and 
fields of ice." — " But we must brace up," ^ said he, " these 
are not times for nervous systems. — I hope we shall give 
our northern enemies that hailstorm of bullets, which 
gives our dear country the dominion of the sea. We have 

^ Do you recall any passages in Hamlet which imply that France 
was dear to the Danish heart ? 

^ Sea-going vessels propelled partly or wholly by oars. 
^ Is Southey guilty of using slang ? 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 197 

it, and all the devils in tlie north cannot take it from lis, 
if our wooden walls ^ have fair play." Before the fleet 
left Yarmouth, it was sufficiently known that its destina- 
tion was against Denmark. Some Danes, who belonged to 
the Amazon frigate, went to Captain Eiou,^ and telling 
him what they had heard, begged that he would get them 
exchanged into a ship bound on some other destination. 
'^ They had no wish," they said, '' to quit the British ser- 
vice; but they entreated that they might not be forced to 
fight against their own country." There was not in our 
whole navy a man who had a higher and more chivalrous 
sense of duty than Eiou. Tears came into his eyes while 
the men were speaking : without making any reply, he in- 
stantly ordered his boat, and did not return to the Amazon 
until he could tell them that their wish was effected. 

The fleet sailed on the 12th of March. Mr. Vansit- 
tart 2 sailed in it ; the British cabinet still hoping to obtain 
its end by negotiation. It was well for England that Sir 
Hyde Parker placed a fuller confidence in Nelson than the 
Government seems to have done at this most important 
crisis. Tier enemies might well have been astonished at 
learning, that any other man should for a moment have 
been thought of for the command. But so little deference 
was paid, even at this time, to his intuitive and all-com- 
manding genius, that when the fleet had reached its first 
rendezvous, at the entrance of the Cattegat, he had re- 
ceived no official communication whatever of the intended 
operations. His own mind had been made up upon them 
with its accustomed decision. " All I have gathered of 
our first plans," said he, " I disapprove most exceedingly. 
Honour may arise from them; good cannot. I hear we are 
likely to anchor outside of Oronenburgh Castle, instead of 
Copenhagen, which would give weight to our negotiation. 
A Danish minister would think twice before he would put 
his name to war with England, when the next moment he 
would probably see his master's fleet in flames, and his 

^"The credite of the Realme, by defending the same with our 
Wodden Walles, as Themistocles called the Ships of Athens." — Pre- 
face to the English translation of Linschoten. Quoted in Bartlett's 
Familiar Quotations, p. 861. 

^ See Campbell's Battle of the Baltic. 

^ Mr. Vansittart is called an old woman by Macaulay. He was 
ultimately made a lord. 



198 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

capital in ruins. The Dane sliould see our flag every 
moment lie lifted up his head." 

Mr. Vansittart left the fleet at the Scaw, and preceded 
it in a frigate, with a flag of truce. Precious time was 
lost by this delay, which was to be purchased by the dear- 
est blood of Britain and Denmark : according to the Danes 
themselves, the intelligence that a British fleet was seen off 
the Sound produced a much more general alarm in Copen- 
hagen than its actual arrival in the roads; for their means 
of defence were, at that time, in such a state, that they 
could hardly hope to resist, still less to repel, an enemy. 
On the 21st, Nelson had a long conference with Sir Hyde; 
and the next day addressed a letter to him, worthy of him- 
self and of the occasion. Mr. Vansittart's report had then 
been received. It represented the Danish government as 
in the highest degree hostile; and their state of prepara- 
tion as exceeding what our cabinet had supposed possible; 
for Denmark had ]3i'ofited, with all activity, of the leisure 
which had so im2:)oliticly been given her. "The morel 
have reflected," said l^elson to his commander, " the more 
I am confirmed in opinion, that not a moment should be 
lost in attacking the enemy. They will every day and 
every hour be stronger: we shall never be so good a match 
for them as at this moment. The only consideration is, 
how to get at them with the least risk to our ships. — Here 
you are, with almost the safety, certainly with the honour, 
of England, more entrusted to you than ever yet fell to 
the lot of any British officer. On your decision depends 
whether our country shall be degraded in the eyes of 
Europe, or whether she shall rear her head higher than 
ever. Again, I do repeat, never did our country depend so 
much upon the success of any fleet as on this. How best 
to honour her, and abate the pride of her enemies, must 
be the subject of your deepest consideration." ^ 

Supposing him to force the passage of the Sound, Nel- 
son thought some damage might be done among the 
masts and yards ; though, perhaps, not one of them but 

^"This letter is a full and masterly exposition of the prospects 
before them, and should be studied in detail by everyone who wishes 
to obtain an insight into Nelson's manner of considering not merely 
how to get at the enemy, but, in his own words, ' how to get at them 
with the least risk to our ships.' "— Laughton, Nelson, p. 157. 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 199 

would be serviceable again. "If the wind be fair/' said 
he, "and you determine to attack the ships and Crown 
Islands, you must expect the natural issue of such a battle 
— ships crippled, and, perhaps, one or two lost; for the 
wind which carries you in will most probably not bring 
out a crippled ship. This mode I call taking the bull by 
the horns. It, however, will not prevent the Eevel ships, 
or the Swedes, from joining the Danes: and to prevent 
this, is, in my humble opinion, a measure absolutely neces- 
sary; and still to attack Copenhagen." For this he pro- 
posed two modes. One was, to pass Cronenburgh, taking 
the risk of danger; take the deepest and straightest chan- 
nel along the Middle G-rounds ; and then, coming down the 
Garbar, or King's Channel, attack the Danish line of float- 
ing batteries and ships, as might be found convenient. 
This would prevent a junction, and might give an oppor- 
tunity of bombarding Copenhagen. Or to take the passage 
of the Belt, which might be accomplished in four or five 
days; and then the attack by Draco might be made, and 
the junction of the Eussians prevented. Supposing them 
through the Belt, he proposed that a detachment of the 
fleet should be sent to destroy the Russian squadron at Revel ; 
and that the business at Copenhagen should be attempted 
with the remainder. " The measure," he said, " might be 
thought bold; but the boldest measures are the safest." ^ 

The pilots, as men who had nothing but safety to think 
of, were terrified by the formidable report of the batteries 
of Elsineur, and the tremendous preparations which our 
negotiators, who were now returned from their fruitless 
mission, had witnessed. They, therefore, persuaded Sir 
Hyde to prefer the passage of the Belt. "Let it be by 
the Sound, by the Belt, or any how," cried ISTelson, " only 
lose not an hour! " On the 26th they sailed for the Belt: 
such was the habitual reserve of Sir Hyde that his own 
captain — the captain of the fleet — did not know which 
course he had resolved to take till the fleet were getting 
under weigh. When Captain Domett was thus apprised 
of it, he felt it his duty to represent to the Admiral his 

^ " It is of this last suggestion, ' a suggestion worthy of Napoleon 
himself,' that Captain Mahan has weU said : ' If adopted, it would 
have brought down the Baltic Confederacy with a crash that would 
have resounded throughout Europe.' " — Laughton, Nelson, p. 159. 



200 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

belief that, if that course were persevered in, the ultimate 
object would be totall}^ defeated: it was liable to long de- 
lays, and to accidents of ships grounding; in the whole 
fleet there were only one captain and one pilot who knew 
anything of this formidable passage (as it was then 
deemed), and their knowledge was very slight: their in- 
structions did not authorise them to attempt it; — suppos- 
ing them safe through the Belts, the heavy shijDS could not 
come over the Grounds to attack Copenhagen, and light 
vessels would have no effect on such a line of defence as 
had been prepared against them. Domett urged these 
reasons so forcibly that Sir Hyde's opinion was shaken, and 
he consented to bring the fleet to, and send for ^Nelson on 
board. There can be little doubt but that the expedition 
would have failed, if Captain Domett had not thus timely 
and earnestly given his advice. — ISTelson entirely agreed with 
him; and it was finally determined to take the passage of 
the Sound, and the fleet returned to its former anchorage. 
The next day was more idly expended in despatching a 
flag of truce to the Governor of Cronenburgh Castle, to ask 
whether he had received orders to fire at the British fleet; 
as the Admiral must consider the first gun to be a declar- 
ation of war on the part of Denmark. A soldier-like and 
becoming answer was returned to this formality. The 
Governor said, that the British Minister had not been sent 
away from Copenhagen, but had obtained a passport at his 
own demand. He himself, as a soldier, could not meddle 
with politics : but he was not at liberty to suffer a fleet, of 
which the intention was not yet known, to approach the 
guns of the castle which he had the honour to command : 
and he requested, if the British Admiral should think 
proper to make any proposals to the King of Denmark, 
that he might be apprised of it before the fleet approached 
nearer. During this intercourse, a Dane, who came on 
board the commander's ship, having occasion to express 
his business in writing, found the pen blunt ; and, holding 
it up, sarcastically said, " If your guns are not better 
pointed than your pens, you will make little impression on 
Copenhagen! " ^ 

^Nelson called him a "young coxcomb." He asked who com- 
manded the various ships, and when Nelson was mentioned, he 
exclaimed : "What, is he here? I would give a hundred guineas 
to see him. Then I suppose it is no joke if he has come! " 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 201 

On that day intelligence reached the Admiral of the 
loss of one of his fleet, the Invincible, seventy-four, 
wrecked on a sand-bank, as she was coming out of Yar- 
mouth: 400 of her men perished in her. Nelson, who was 
now appointed to lead the van, shifted his flag to the Ele- 
phant, Captain Foley ^ — a lighter ship than the 8t. George, 
and, therefore, fitter for the expected operations.^ The 
tAvo following days were calm. Orders had been given to 
pass the Sound as soon as the wind, would permit; and, on 
the afternoon of the 29th, the ships were cleared for action 
with an alacrity characteristic of British seamen. At day- 
break, on the 30th, it blew a topsail breeze^ from JST.W. 
The signal was made, and the fleet moved on in order of 
battle; Nelson's division in the van. Sir Hyde's in the cen- 
tre, and Admiral Graves' in the rear. 

G-reat actions, whether military or naval, have generally 
given celebrity to the scenes from whence they are denomi- 
nated; and thus petty villages, and capes, and bays, 
known only to the coasting trader, become associated with 
mighty deeds, and their names are made conspicuous in 
the history of the world. Here, however, the scene was 
every way worthy of the drama. The political importance 
of the Sound is such, that grand objects are not needed 
there to impress the imagination, yet is the channel full of 
grand and interesting objects, both of art and nature. 
This passage, which Denmark had so long considered as 
the key of the Baltic, is, in its narrowest part, about three 
miles wide, and here the city of Elsineur is situated; 
except Copenhagen, the most flourishing of the Danish 
towns. Every vessel which passes lowers her top-gallant- 
sails ^ and pays toll at Elsineur ; a toll which is believed to 
have had its origin in the consent of the traders to that 
sea, Denmark taking upon itself the charge of construct- 
ing lighthouses and erecting signals to mark the shoals and 
rocks from the Cattegat to the Baltic, and they, on their 
part, agreeing that all ships should pass this way, in order 
that all might pay their shares : none from that time using 

^Seep. 128. 

^ He took with him his two portraits of Lady Hamilton, whom he 
called Santa Emma. 

^ A breeze light enough to permit top-sails to be spread, but too 
heavy to justify the use of top-gallant sails. 

* This custom continued until 1829. 



202 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

the passage of the Belt ; because it was not fitting that they, 
who enjoyed the benefit of the beacons in dark and stormy 
weather, should evade contributing to them in fair seasons 
and summer nights. Of late years about ten thousand 
vessels had annually paid this contribution in time of 
peace. Adjoining Elsineur, and at the edge of the penin- 
sular promontory, upon the nearest point of land to the 
Swedish coast, stands Cronenburgh Castle, built after Tycho 
Brahe's ^ design; a magnificent pile — at once a palace, and 
fortress, and state-prison, with its spires and towers, and 
battlements and batteries. On the left of the strait is the 
old Swedish city of Helsinburg, at the foot and on the side 
of a hill. To the north of Helsinburg the shores are steep 
and rocky; they lower to the south, and the distant spires 
of Landscrona, Lund, and Malmoe, are seen in the flat 
country. The Danish shores consist j)artly of ridges of 
sand; but more frequently they are diversified with corn- 
fields, meadows, slopes, and are covered with rich wood, and 
villages and villas, and summer palaces belonging to the 
King and the nobility, and denoting the vicinity of a 
great capital. The isles of Huen, Saltholm, and Amak, 
appear in the widening channel; and, at the distance of 
twenty miles from Elsineur, stands Copenhagen in full view; 
the best city of the north, and one of the finest caj)itals 
of Europe, visible, with its stately spires, far off. Amid 
these magnificent objects there are some which possess a 
peculiar interest from the recollections which they call 
forth. The isle of Huen, a lovely domain, about six miles 
in circumference, had been the munificent gift of Frederick 
the Second to Tycho Brahe. Here most of his discov- 
eries were made, and here the ruins are to be seen of his 
observatory, and of the mansion where he was visited by 
princes, and where, with a princely spirit, he received and 
entertained all comers from all parts, and promoted science 
by his liberality as well as by his labours. Elsineur is a 
name familiar to English ears, being inseparably associated 
with Hamlet, and one of the noblest works of human genius. 

^ Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) was a great Danish astronomer. " He 
will not be thought to have lived in vain by anyone who has ever 
found his longitude at sea, or slept in quiet while a comet was in the 
heavens, without fear of the once supposed minister of God's anger. 
His observations form the first great step in modern astronomy." 
Quoted in MuUin's edition of Southey's Life of Nelson, p. 184, 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 20$ 

Cronenburgli had been the scene of deeper tragedy. Here 
Queen Matilda ^ was confined, the victim of a foul and mur- 
derous court intrigue. Here, amid heart-breaking griefs, 
she found consolation in nursing her infant. Here she 
took her everlasting leave of that infant, when, by the in- 
terference of England, her own deliverance was obtained; 
and, as the ship bore her away from a country where the 
venial indiscretions of youth and unsuspicious gaiety had 
been so cruelly punished, upon these towers she fixed her 
eyes, and stood upon the deck, obstinately gazing toward 
them till the last speck had disappeared. 

The Sound being the only frequented entrance to the 
Baltic, the great Mediterranean of the North,^ few parts of 
the sea display so frequent ^ a navigation. In the height 
of the season not fewer than a hundred vessels pass every 
f our-and-twenty hours, for many weeks in succession : but 
never had so busy or so splendid a scene been exhibited 
there as on this day, when the British fleet prepared to 
force that passage where, till now, all ships had vailed* 
their top-sails to the flag of Denmark. The whole force 
consisted of fifty-one sail of various descriptions; of which 
sixteen were of the line. The greater part of the bomb 
and gun vessels took their stations off Cronenburgli Castle, 
to cover the fleet, while others on the larboard were ready 
to engage the Swedish shore. The Danes, having im- 
proved every moment which ill-timed negotiation and 
baffling weather gave them, had lined their shore with 
batteries; and as soon as the Monarch, which was the lead- 
ing ship, came abreast of them, a fire was opened from 
about a hundred pieces of cannon and mortars; our light 
vessels immediately, in return, opened their fire upon the 
Castle. Here was all the pompous circumstance and excit- 
ing reality of war without its efl:ects, for this ostentatious 
display was but a bloodless prelude to the wide and sweep- 
ing destruction which was soon to follow. The enemy's 
shot fell near enough to splash the water on board our 
ships : not relying upon any forbearance of the Swedes, 

^ Caroline Matilda was a daughter of Frederick Prince of Wales, 
a sister of George III., and wife of Christian VII. of Denmark. 

^ Byron calls Scott "the Ariosto of the North." Invent some 
analogous phrases for statesmen and cities. 

^ Does his use of this word indicate that Southey knew Latin ? 

^ Lowered. 



204 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

they meant to have kept the mid-channel; bnt when they 
perceived that not a shot was fired from Helsinbnrg, and 
that no batteries were to be seen on the Swedish shore^ 
they inclined to that side, so as completely to get out of 
reach of the Danish guns. The uninterrupted blaze 
which was kept up from them till the fleet had passed 
served only to exhilarate our sailors and afford them mat- 
ter for jest, as the shot fell in showers a full cable's length ^ 
short of its destined aim. A few rounds were returned 
from some of our leading ships till they perceived its in- 
utility : — this, however, occasioned the only bloodshed of 
the clay, some of our men being killed and wounded by 
the bursting of a gun. As soon as the main body had 
passed, the gun-vessels followed, desisting from their 
bombardment, which had been as innocent^ as that of the 
enemy; and, about mid-day, the whole fleet anchored be- 
tween the island of Huen and Copenhagen. Sir Hyde, 
with Nelson, Admiral Graves, some of the senior cap- 
tains, and the commanding officers of the artillery and 
the troops, then proceeded in a lugger^ to reconnoitre the 
enemy's means of defence; a formidable line of ships, 
radeaus,^ pontoons,^ galleys, fire-ships, and gun-boats, 
flanked and supported by extensive batteries, and occupy- 
ing from one extreme point to the other, an extent of 
nearly four miles. 

A council of war was held in the afternoon. It was ap- 
parent that the Danes could not be attacked without great 
difficulty and risk; and some of the members of the coun- 
cil spoke of the number of the Swedes and Eussians whom 
they should afterwards have to engage, as a consideration 
which ought to be borne in mind. Nelson, who kept pac- 
ing the cabin, impatient as he ever was of anything which 
savoured of irresolution, repeatedly said, "The more nu- 
merous the better: I wish they .were twice as many, — the 
easier the victory, depend on it.'^") The plan upon which 
he had determined, if ever it should be his fortune to 
bring a Baltic fleet to action, was to attack the head of 

' A cable's length is 720 feet. 
^Innocent ; etyinology? 

^ A small vessel with two or three masts and lug sails. A lug sail 
is a square sail hung upon a yard fastened obliquely to the mast. 
* A raft. 
' A low, flat barge. 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 205 

their line and confuse tlieir movements. — " Close with a 
Frenchman/' he used to say^ "but out manoeuvre a Eus- 
sian^'' He offered his services for the attack, requiring 
ten sail of the line, and the whole of the smaller craft. 
Sir Hyde gave him two more line-of-battle ships than he 
asked, and left everythingto his judgment. 

The enemy's force was not the only, nor the greatest, 
obstacle with which the British fleet had to contend: 
there was another to be overcome before they could come 
in contact with it. The channel was little knoAvn and 
extremely intricate ; all the buoys had been removed ; and 
the Danes considered this difficulty as almost insuperable, 
thinking the channel impracticable for so large a fleet. 
Nelson himself saw the soundings made, and the buoys laid 
down, boating it upon this exhausting service, day and 
night, till it was effected, v. When this was done, he 
thanked Grod for having enabled him to get through this 
difficult part of his duty. " It had worn him down," he 
said, ''and was infinitely more grievous to him than any 
resistance which he could experience from the enemy." 

At the first council of war, opinions inclined to an at- 
tack from the eastward: but the next day, the wind 
being southerly, after a second examination of the Danish 
position, it was determined to attack from the south, ap- 
proaching in the manner which Nelson had suggested in 
his first thoughts. On the morning of the 1st of April, 
the whole fleet removed to an anchorage within two 
leagues^ of the town, and off the N.AV. end of the Middle 
Ground; a shoal lying exactly before the town, at about 
three-quarters of a mile's distance, and extending along 
its whole sea-front. The King's Channel, where there is 
deep water, is between this shoal and the town; and here 
the Danes had arranged their line of defence, as near the 
shore as possible; nineteen ships and floating batteries, 
flanked, at the end nearest the town, by the Crown Bat- 
teries, which were two artificial islands at the mouth of the 
harbour — most formidable works; the larger one having, 
by the Danish account, sixty-six guns; but, as Nelson be- 
lieved, eighty-eight. The fleet having anchored. Nelson, 
with Eiou, in the Amazon, made his last examination of 
the ground; and, about one o'clock, returning to his own 

^ A league is three nautical miles. 



206 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

ship, threw out the signal to weigh. It was received with 
a shout throughout the whole division; they weighed with 
a light and favourable wind : the narrow channel between 
the island of Saltliolm and the Middle Ground had been 
accurately buoyed; the small craft pointed out the course 
distinctly; Riou led the way: the whole division coasted 
along the outer edge of the shoal, doubled its south ex- 
tremity, and anchored there off Draco Point, just as the 
darkness closed — the headmost of the enemy's line not 
being more than two miles distant. The signal to prepare 
for action had been made early in the evening; and, as his 
own anchor dropioed, Nelson called out, " I will fight them 
the moment I have a fair wind." It had been agreed that 
Sir Hyde, with the remaining ships, should weigh on the 
following morning, at the same time as Nelson, to menace 
the Crown Batteries on his side, and the four ships of the 
line which lay at the entrance of the arsenal; and to cover 
our own disabled ships as they came out of action. 

The Danes, meantime, had not been idle: no sooner did 
the guns of Cronenburgh make it known to the whole city 
that all negotiation was at an end, that the British fleet 
was passing the Sound, and that the dispute between the 
two crowns must now be decided by arms, than a spirit dis- 
played itself most honourable to the Danish character. All 
ranks offered themselves to the service of their country; 
the University furnished a corps of twelve hundred youth, 
the flower of Denmark : — it was one of those emergencies 
in which little drilling or discipline is necessary to render 
courage available : they had nothing to learn but how to 
manage the guns, and were employed day and night in 
practising them. When the movements of Nelson's squad- 
ron were perceived, it was known when and where the at- 
tack was to be expected, and the line of defence was 
manned indiscriminately by soldiers, sailors, and citizens. 
Had not the whole attention of the Danes been directed 
to strengthen their own means of defence, they might 
most materially have annoyed the invading squadron, and, 
perhaps, frustrated the impending attack; for the British 
ships were crowded in an anchoring ground of little ex- 
tent: — it was calm, so that mortar-boats might have acted 
against them to the utmost advantage; and they were 
within range of shells from Amak Island. A few fell among 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON ^07 

them; but the enemy soon ceased to fire. It was learnt 
afterwards, that, fortunately for the fleet, the bed of the 
mortar ^ had given way ; and the Danes either could not get 
it replaced, or, in the darkness, lost the direction. 

This was an awful night for Copenhagen — far more so 
than for the British fleet, where the men were accustomed 
to battle and victory, and had none of those objects before 
their eyes which render death terrible. ^J^elson sat down 
to table with a large party of his officers; he was, as he 
was ever wont to be when on the eve of action, in high 
spirits, and drank to a leading wind,^ and to the success 
of the morrow^ After supper they returned to their 
respective ships, except Riou, who remained to arrange the 
order of battle with Nelson and Foley, and to draw up in- 
structions: Hardy, meantime, went in a small boat to ex- 
amine the channel between them and the enemy ; approach- 
ing so near, that he sounded round their leading ship with 
a pole, lest the noise of throwing the lead should discover 
him. The incessant fatigue of body, as well as mind, 
which Nelson had undergone during the last three days, 
had so exhausted him, that he was earnestly urged to go to 
his cot ; and his old servant, Allen, using that kind of 
authority which long and affectionate services entitled and 
enabled him to assume on such occasions, insisted upon his 
complying. The cot was placed on the floor, and he con- 
tinued to dictate from it. About eleven Hardy returned, 
and reported the practicability of the channel, and the 
depth of water up to the enemy's line. About one, the 
orders were completed; and half-a-dozen clerks, in the fore- 
most cabin, proceeded to transcribe them: Nelson fre- 
quently calling out to them from his cot to hasten their 
work, for the wind was becoming fair. Instead of attempt- 
ing to get a few hours of sleep, he was constantly receiving 
reports on this important point. At daybreak it was an- 
nounced as becoming perfectly fair. The clerks finished 
their work about six. Nelson, who was already up, break- 
fasted, and made signal for all captains. The land forces, 
and five hundred seamen, under Captain Fremantle and 
the Hon. Col. Stewart, were to storm the Crown Battery 

^ A short piece of ordnance with a large bore ; for firing sliells at 
great angles of elevation, forty-five degrees or more. 
^ A. wind that blows on the beam or on the quarter,; a fair wind. 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 209 

as soon as its fire should be silenced: and Rion — whom 
Nelson had never seen till this expedition^, but whose 
worth he had instantly perceived, and appreciated as it de- 
served — had the Blanche and Alcmene frigates, the Dart 
and Arrow sloops, and Zephyr and Otter fire-ships, given 
him, with a special command to act as circumstances might 
require: — every other ship had its station appointed. 

Between eight and nine, the pilots and masters were 
ordered on board the Admiral's ship. The pilots were 
mostly men who had been mates in Baltic traders; and 
their hesitation about the bearing of the east end of the 
shoal, and the exact line of deep water, gave ominous 
warning of how little their knowledge was to be trusted. 
The signal for action had been made, the wind was fair — 
not a moment to be lost. ISTelson urged them to be steady, 
— to be resolute, and to decide : but they wanted the only 
ground for steadiness and decision in such cases; and Nel- 
son had reason to regret that he had not trusted to Hardy's 
single report. This was one of the most painful moments 
of his life; and he always spoke of it with bitterness. " I 
experienced in the Sound," said he, " the misery of having 
the honour of our country entrusted to a set of pilots, 
who had no other thought than to keep the ships clear of 
danger, and their own silly heads clear of shot. Every- 
body knows what I must have suffered : and if any merit 
attaches itself to me, it was for combating the dangers of 
the shallows in defiance of them." At length Mr. Bryerly, 
the master of the Bellona, declared that he was prepared 
to lead the fleet: his judgment was acceded to by the rest: 
they returned to their ships; and, at half -past nine, the 
signal was made to weigh in succession. 

Captain Murray, in the Edgar, led the way; the Aga- 
memnon was next in order : but, on the first attempt to 
leave her anchorage, she could not weather the edge of 
the shoal; and Nelson had the grief to see his old ship, in 
which he had performed so many years' gallant services, 
immovably aground, at a moment when her help was so 
greatly required. Signal was then Inade for the Polyphe- 
mus : and this change in the order of sailing was executed 
with the utmost promptitude : yet so much delay had thus 
been unavoidably occasioned, that the Edgar was for some 
time unsupported: and the Polyphemus, whose place 

14 



210 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

should have been at the end of the enemy's line^, where 
their strength was the greatest, could get no farther than 
the beginning, owing to the difficulty of the channel : there 
she occui)ied, indeed, an efficient station, but one where 
her presence was less required. The Isis followed, with 
better fortune, and took her own berth. The Bellona, Sir 
Thomas Boulden Thompson, kept too close on the starboard 
shoal, and grounded abreast of the outer ship of the enemy: 
this was the more vexatious, inasmuch as the wind was 
fair, the room ample, and three ships had led the way. 
The Russell, following the Bellona, grounded in like man- 
ner; both were within reach of shot; but their absence 
from their intended stations was severely felt. Each ship 
had been ordered to pass her leader on the starboard side, 
because the water was supposed to shoal on the larboard ^ 
shore. Nelson, who came next after these two ships, 
thought they had kept too far on the starboard direction, 
and made signal for them to close with the enemy, not 
knowing that they were aground : but, when he perceived 
that they did not obey the signal, he ordered the Eleplianfs 
helm to starboard, and went within these ships: thus quit- 
ting the appointed order of sailing, and guiding those 
which were to follow. The greater part of the fleet were 
probably, by this act of promptitude on his part, saved 
from going on shore. Each ship, as she arrived nearly 
opposite to her appointed station, let her anchor go by the 
stern, and presented her broadside to the Danes. The 
distance between each was about a half-cable. The action 
was fought nearly at the distance of a cable's length from 
the enemy. This, which rendered its continuance so long, 
was owing to the ignorance and consequent indecision of 
the pilots. In pursuance of the same error which had led 
the Bellona and the Russell aground, they, when the lead 
was at a quarter less five,^ refused to approach nearer, in 
dread of shoaling their water on the larboard shore : a fear 
altogether erroneous, for the water deepened up to the very 
side of the enemy's line. 

At five minutes after ten the action began. The first 
half of our fleet was engaged in about half an hour; and, 

^Larboard is now called "port" to avoid the danger that it may 
be misunderstood for starboard in an oral order. 
^ Four fathoms and three-quarters. 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 211 

by half -past eleven, the battle became general. The plan 
of the attack had been complete : but seldom has any plan 
been more disconcerted by untoward accidents. Of twelve 
ships of the line, one was entirely useless, and two others 
in a situation where they could not render half the service 
which Avas required of them. Of the squadron of gun- 
brigs only one could get into action : the rest were pre- 
vented, by baffling currents, from weathering the eastern 
end of the shoal; and only two of the bomb-vessels could 
reach their station on the Middle Ground, and open their 
mortars on the arsenal, firing over both fleets. Riou took 
the vacant station against the Crown Battery, with his frig- 
ates; attempting, with that unequal force, a service in 
which three sail of the line had been directed to assist. 

Nelson's agitation had been extreme when he saw him- 
self, before the action began, deprived of a fourth part of 
his ships of the line; but no sooner was he in battle, where 
his squadron was received with the fire of more than a 
thousand guns, than, as if that artillery, like music, had 
driven away all care and painful thoughts, his counte- 
nance brightened; and as a bystander describes him, his 
conversation became joyous, animated, elevated, and de- 
lightful. The Commander-in-Chief, meantime, near 
enough to the scene of action to know the unfavourable 
accidents which had so materially weakened Nelson, and 
yet too distant to know the real state of the contending 
parties, suffered the most dreadful anxiety. To get to his 
assistance was impossible; both wind and current were 
against him. Fear for the event, in such circumstances, 
would naturally preponderate in the bravest mind; and, 
at one o'clock, perceiving that, after three hours' endur- 
ance, the enemy's fire was unslackened, he began to despair 
of success. "I will make the signal of recall," said he to 
his captain, "for Nelson's sake. If he is in a condition 
to continue the- action successfully, he will disregard it; if 
he is not, it will be an excuse for his retreat, and no blame 
can be imputed to him." Captain Domett urged him at 
least to delay the signal, till he could communicate with 
Nelson; but, in Sir Hyde's opinion, the danger was too 
pressing for delay: — " The fire," he said, '^ was too hot for. 
Nelson to oppose; a retreat he thought must be made, 
— he was aware of the consequences to his own personal 



212 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

reputation^ but it would be cowardly in liim to leave Nel- 
son to bear the whole shame of the failure, if shame it 
should be deemed." Under a mistaken judgment,* there- 
fore, but with this disinterested and generous feeling, he 
made the signal for retreat. 

Nelson was at this time, in all the excitement of action, 
pacing the quarter-deck. A shot through the mainmast 
knocked the s|)linters about; and he observed to one of his 
officers with a smile, "It is warm work; and this day may 
be the last to any of us at a moment: " — and then stop- 
ping short at the gang- way, added with emotion — "But, 
mark you! I would not be elsewhere for thousands." 
About this time the signal-lieutenant called out, that No. 
39 (the signal for discontinuing the action) was thrown 
out by the Commander-in-Chief. He continued to walk 
the deck, and appeared to take no notice of it. The signal- 
officer met him at the next turn, and asked him if he 
should repeat it. "No," he replied, "acknowledge it." 
Presently he called after him to know if the signal for 
close action was still hoisted; and being answered in the 
affirmative, said, " Mind you keep it so." He now paced 
the deck, moving the stump of his lost arm in a manner 
which always indicated great emotion. " Ho you know," 
said he to Mr. Ferguson, " what is shown on board the 
Commander-in-Chief? No. 39!" Mr. Ferguson asked 
what that meant. — "Why, to leave off action!" Then, 
shrugging u]^ his shoulders, he repeated the words — 
~" Leave off action ? Now, damn me if I do ! You know, 
Foley," turning to the Captain, " I have only one eye, — I 
have a right to be blind sometimes: " — and then, putting 
the glass to his blind eye, in that mood of mind which 
sports with bitterness, he exclaimed, ' ' I really do not see 
the signal! " Presently he exclaimed, " Damn the signal! 
Keep mine for closer battle flying! That's the way I an- 
swer such signals ! Nail mine to the mast! "^ Admiral 

* I have great pleasure in rendering this justice to Sir Hyde Par- 
ker's reasoning. Tliis fact is here stated upon the highest and most 
unquestionable authority. — Southey's Note. 

^ The story is told on the evidence of Colonel Stewart, who was 
with Nelson at the time. It is well established, however, that Parker 
sent a message to Nelson that the signal >vas to be understood as per- 
missive. Nelson did not choose to avail himself of the permission. 
The conversation was probably a joke quite understood by Foley, 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 213 

Graves^ who was so situated that he could not discern what 
was done on board the Elepliant, disobeyed Sir Hyde's 
signal in like manner : whether by a fortunate mistake, or 
by a like brave intention, has not been made knoAvn. The 
other ships of the line, looking only to Nelson, continued 
the action. The signal, however, saved Eiou's little squad- 
ron, but did not save its heroic leader. This squadron, 
which was nearest the Commander-in-Chief, obeyed, and 
hauled off. It had suffered severely in its most unequal 
contest. For a long time the Amazon had been firing, 
enveloped in smoke, when Riou desired his men to stand 
fast, and let the smoke clear off, that they might see what 
they were about. A fatal order; for the Danes then got 
clear sight of her from the batteries, and pointed their guns 
with such tremendous effect, that nothing but the signal 
for retreat saved this frigate from destruction. "^ What 
will Nelson think of us ? " was Eiou's mournful exclama- 
tion, when he unwillingly drew off. He had been wounded 
in the head by a splinter, and Avas sitting on a gun, en- 
couraging his men, when, just as the Amazo?i showed her 
stern to the Trekroner Battery, his clerk was killed by his 
side; and another shot swept away several marines, who 
were hauling in the main brace. " Come, then, my boys ! " 
cried Riou, "let us die all together!" The words had 
'scarcely been uttered before a raking shot cut him in two. 
Except it had been Nelson himself, the British navy could 
not have suffered a severer loss. 

Tlie action continued along the line with unabated vig- 
our on our side, and with the most determined resolution 
on the part of the Danes. They fought to great advan- 
tage, because most of the vessels in their line of defence 
were Avithout masts : the few which had any standing had 
their top-masts struck, and the hulls could only be seen at 
intervals. The Isis must have been destroyed by the supe- 
rior weight of her enemy's fire, if Captain Inman in the 
Desires frigate, had not judiciously taken a situation 
which enabled him to rake the Dane, and if the Folyphe- 

but not intelligible to Stewart. Such, at least, is Mr. Laughton's 
opinion. The question, however, arises. Was the fear which Nelson 
expressed of being hanged for disobeying orders, also assumed as a 
joke ? (See p. 219.) And if there was no dissatisfaction with his 
conduct, why was he not inore liberally rewarded for his victory ? 
(See pp. 226 and 244.) 



214 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

mus had not also relieved her. Both in the Bellona and 
the Isis many men were lost by the bursting of their guns. 
The former ship was about forty years old^ and these guns 
were believed to be the same which she had first taken to 
sea: they were, probably, originally faulty, for the frag- 
ments were full of little air-holes. The Bellona lost 
seventy-five men; the Isis, one hundred and ten; the 
Monarcli, two hundred and ten. She was, more than any 
other line of battle ship, exposed to the great battery : and 
supporting, at the same time, the united fire of the Hol- 
stein and the Zealand, her loss this day exceeded that of 
any single ship during the whole war. Amid the tremen- 
dous carnage in this vessel, some of the men displayed a 
singular instance of coolness : the pork and peas happened 
to be in the kettle; a shot knocked its contents about; 
they picked ujd the pieces, and ate and fought at the same 
time. 

The Prince Eoyal had taken his station upon one of the 
batteries, from whence he beheld the action, and issued 
his orders. Denmark had never been engaged in so ardu- 
ous a contest, and never did the Danes more nobly display 
their national courage: — a courage not more unhappily, 
than impoliticly, exerted in subserviency to the interests 
of France. Captain Thura, of the hidfoedsretten, fell 
early in the action; and all his officers, exce|)t one lieuten- 
ant and one marine officer, were either killed or wounded. 
In the confusion, the colours were either struck or shot 
away; but she was moored athwart one of the batteries in 
such a situation that the British made no attempt to board 
her; and a boat was despatched to the Prince, to inform 
him of her situation. He turned to those about him, and 
said, '^ G-entlemen, Thura is killed; which of you will take 
the command? " Schroedersee, a captain who had lately 
resigned, on account of extreme ill health, answered, in a 
feeble voice, "I will!" and hastened on board. The 
crew, perceiving a new commander coming alongside, 
hoisted their colours again, and fired a broadside. Schroe- 
dersee, when he came on deck, found himself surrounded 
by the dead and wounded, and called to those in the boat 
to get quickly on board : a ball struck him at that moment. 
A lieutenant, who had accompanied him, then took the 
command, and continued to fight the sliip> (\ youth of 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 215 

seventeen, by name Villemoes, particularly distinguished 
himself on this memorable day. He had volunteered to 
take the command of a floating battery, which was a raft, 
consisting merely of a number of beams nailed together, 
with a flooring to support the guns: it was square, with a 
breastwork full of port-holes, and without masts, carrying 
24 guns, and 120 men. With this he got under the stern 
of the Eleylmnt, below the reach of the stern-chasers; and 
under a heavy fire of small arms from the marines, fought 
his raft, till the truce was announced, with such skill, as 
well as courage, as to excite Nelson's warmest admiration. 

Between one and two the fire of the Danes slackened; 
about two it ceased from the greater part of their line, and 
some of their lighter ships were adrift. It was, however, 
difficult to take possession of those which struck, because 
the batteries on Amak Island protected them ; and because 
an irregular fire was kept up from the ships themselves as 
the boats approached. This arose from the nature of the 
action; the crews were continually reinforced from the 
shore; and fresh men coming on board, did not inquire 
whether the flag had been struck, or, perhaps, did not 
heed it; — many, or most of them, never having been en- 
gaged in war before — knowing nothing, therefore, of its 
laws, and thinking only of defending their country to the 
last extremity. The Daiibrog fired upon the Eleplianfs 
boats in this manner, though her Commodore had re- 
moved her pendant and deserted her, though she had 
struck, and though she was in flames. After she had been 
abandoned by the Commodore, Braun fought her till he 
lost his right hand, and then Captain Lemming took the 
command. This unexpected renewal of her fire made the 
Elephant and Glatton renew theirs, till she was not only 
silenced, but nearly every man in the praams ^ ahead and 
astern of her was killed. When the smoke of their guns 
died away, she was seen drifting in flames before the wind, 
those of her crew who remained alive, and able to exert 
themselves, throwing themselves out of her port-holes. 

Captain Rothe commanded the Nyehorg praam; and, 
perceiving that she could not much longer be kept afloat, 
made for the inner road. As he passed the line, he found 

^ Floating battery ; in the Baltic large flat boats used for loading 
and unloading vessels are called praams. 



216 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

the Aggershuus praam in a more miserable condition than 
his own ; her masts had all gone by the boards and she was 
on the point of sinking. Eothe made fast a cable to her 
stern^ and towed her olf : but he could get her no farther 
than a shoal, called Stubben, when she sunk ; and soon 
after he had worked the Nyehorg up to the landing place, 
that vessel also sunk to her gunwale. Never did any ves- 
sel come out of action in a more dreadful plight. The 
stump of her foremast was the only stick standing; her 
cabin had been stove in; every gun, except a single one, 
was dismounted: and her deck was covered with shattered 
limbs and dead bodies. 

By half -past two the action had ceased along that part of 
the line which was astern of the Elepliant, but not with 
the ships ahead and the Crown Batteries. Nelson, seeing 
the manner in which his boats were fired upon, when they 
went to take possession of the prizes, became angry, and 
said, he must either send on shore to have this irregular 
proceeding stopt, or send a fire-ship and burn them. 
Half the shot from the Trekroner, and from the batteries 
at Amak, at this time struck the surrendered ships, four of 
which had got close together; and the fire of the English, 
in return, was equally, or even more, destructive to these 
poor devoted Danes. Nelson, who was as humane as he 
was brave, was shocked at this massacre, for such he 
called it: and, with a presence of mind peculiar to himself, 
and never more signally displayed than now, he retired into 
the stern gallery, and wrote thus to the Crown Prince: 
" Vice- Admiral Lord Nelson has been commanded to spare 
Denmark, when she no longer resists. The line of defence 
which covered her shores has struck to the British flag; 
but if the firing is continued on the part of Denmark, he 
must set on fire all the prizes that he has taken, without 
having the power of saving the men who have so nobly 
defended them. The brave Danes are the brothers, and 
should never be the enemies, of the English." A. wafer 
was given him, but he ordered a candle to be brought from 
the cockpit, 1 and sealed the letter with wax, affixing a 

^ " The person dispatched for the was had his head taken off by a 
cannon-ball ; which fact being reported to the Admiral, he merely 
said: ' Send another messenger for the wax.' " — Nelson's Dispatches. 

Why was he so particular about having the wax ? 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 217 

larger seal than lie ordinarily used. " This/' said he^ " is 
no time to appear hurried and informal." Captain Sir 
Frederic Thesiger^ who acted as his aide-de-camp^ carried 
this letter with a flag of truce. Meantime the fire of the 
ships ahead;, and the approach of the Ramillies and De- 
fence, from Sir Hyde's division^ which had now worked 
near enough to alarm the enemy^ though not to injure 
them, silenced the remainder of the Danish line to the 
eastward of the Trekroner. That battery, however, con- 
tinued its fire. This formidable work, owing to the want 
of the ships which had been destined to attack it, and the 
inadequate force of Riou's little squadron, was compara- 
tively uninjured; towards the close of the action it had 
been manned with nearly fifteen hundred men, and the in- 
tention of storming it, for which every preparation had 
been made, was abandoned as impracticable. 

Daring Thesiger's absence, Nelson sent for Fremantle 
from the Ganges, and consulted with him and Foley, 
whether it was advisable to advance, with those ships 
which had sustained least damage, against the yet unin- 
jured part of the Danish line. They were decidedly of 
opinion, that the best thing which could be done was, 
while the wind continued fair, to remove the fleet out of 
the intricate channel, from which it had to retreat. In 
somewhat more than half an hour after Thesiger had been 
despatched, the Danish Adjutant-General, Lindholm, came 
bearing a flag of truce: upon which the Trekroner ceased 
to fire, and the action closed, after four hours' continu- 
ance. He brought an inquiry from the Prince, What was 
the object of Nelson's note ? The British Admiral wrote 
in reply: '^ Lord Nelson's object in sending a flag of truce 
was humanity; he therefore consents that hostilities shall 
cease, and that the wounded Danes may be taken on shore. 
And Lord Nelson will take his prisoners out of the vessels, 
and burn or carry off his prizes as he shall think fit. Lord 
INelson, with humble duty to his royal highness the Prince, 
will consider this the greatest victory he has ever gained, 
if it may be the cause of a happy reconciliation and union 
between his own most gracious sovereign and his majesty 
the King of Denmark." — Sir Frederic Thesiger was de- 
spatched a second time with the reply; and the Danish 
Adjutant- General was referred to the Commander-in-Chief 



218 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

for a conference npon this overture. Lindholm assenting 
to this^ proceeded to the London, which was riding at 
anchor full four miles off; and Nelson, losing not one of 
the critical moments which he had thus gained, made 
signal for his leading ships to weigh in succession: — they 
had the shoal to clear, they were much crippled, and their 
course was immediately under the guns of the Trekroner. 
The Mo7iarc]i led the way. This ship had received six- 
and-twenty shot between wind and water. She had not a 
shroud standing; there was a double-headed shot ^ in the 
heart of the foremast, and the slightest wind would have 
sent every mast over her side.* The imminent danger 
from which J^elson had extricated himself soon became 
apparent; the Monarch touched immediately upon a shoal, 
over which she was pushed by the Ganges taking her 
amidships; the Glatton went clear; but the other two, 
the Defiance and the Ele])liant, grounded about a mile from 
the Trekroner, and there remained fixed, for many hours, 
in spite of all the exertions of their wearied crews. The 
Desiree frigate also, at the other end of the line, having 
gone toward the close of the action to assist the Bellona, 
became fast on the same shoal. Nelson left the Ele/pliant, 
soon after she took the ground, to follow Lindholm. The 
heat of action was over; and that kind of feeling, which 
the surrounding scene of havoc was so well fitted to pro- 
duce, pressed heavily upon his exhausted spirits : the sky 
had suddenly become overcast; white flags were waving at 
the mast-heads of so many shattered ships : — the slaughter 
had ceased, but the grief was to come, for the account of the 
dead was not yet made up, and no man could tell for what 
friends he would have to mourn. The very silence which fol- 
lows the cessation of such a battle becomes a weight upon 
the heart at first, rather than a relief ; and though the work 

^ Double-headed shot : a projectile formed by uniting two shots at 
their bases. 

* It would have been well if the fleet, before they went under the 
batteries, had left their spare spars moored out of reach of shot. 
Many would have been saved which were destroyed lying on the 
booms, and the hurt done by their splinters would have been saved 
also. Small craft could have towed them up when they were re- 
quired ; and, after such an action, so many must necessarily be 
wanted, that, if those which were not in use were wounded, it might 
have rendered it impossible to refit the ships. — Southey's Note. 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 219 

of mutual destruction was at an end, the Danhrog was, at 
this time, drifting about in flames; presently she blew up, 
while our boats, which had put off in all directions to assist 
her, were endeavouring to pick up her devoted crew, few 
of whom could be saved. The fate of these men, after 
the gallantry which they had displayed, particularly affected 
Nelson; for there was nothing in this action of that indig- 
nation against the enemy, and that impression of retribu- 
tive justice, which at the Nile had given a sterner temper 
to his mind, and a sense of austere delight, in beholding 
the vengeance of which he was the appointed minister. 
The Danes were an honourable foe; they were of English 
mould as well as English blood ; ^ and now that the battle 
had ceased, he regarded them rather as brethren than as 
enemies. There was another reflection also, which mingled 
with these melancholy thoughts, and predisposed him to 
receive them. He was not here master of his own move- 
ments, as at Egypt; he had won the day by disobeying his 
orders; and in so far as he had been successful, had con- 
victed the Commander-in-Chief of an error in judgment. 
"i^^Well," said he, as he left the Elephant, " I have fought 
contrary to orders, and I shall perhaps be hanged ! Never 
mind : let them !, ' ' 

This was the language of a man who, while he is giving 
utterance to an uneasy thought, clothes it half in jest, be- 
cause he half repents that it has been disclosed. His ser- 
vices had been too eminent on that day, his judgment too 
conspicuous, his success too signal, for any commander, 
however jealous of his own authority, or envious of an- 
other's merits, to express anything but satisfaction and 
gratitude, which Sir Hyde heartily felt and sincerely ex- 
pressed. It was speedily agreed that there should be a 
suspension of hostilities for four-and-twenty hours; that 
all the prizes should be surrendered, and the wounded 
Danes carried on shore. There was a pressing necessity 
for this; for the Danes, either from too much confidence 
in the strength of their positions, and the difficulty of the 
channel; or, supposing that the wounded might be car- 
ried on shore during the action, which was found totally 
impracticable; or, perhaps, from the confusion which the 
attack excited, had provided no surgeons; so that, when 

^ See Green's Short History of England, p. 39. 



220 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

our men boarded the captured sliips^ they found many of 
the mangled and mutilated Danes bleeding to death for 
want of proper assistance; a scene, of all others, the most 
shocking to a brave man's feelings. 

The boats of Sir Hyde's division were actively employed 
all night in bringing out the prizes, and in getting afloat 
the ships which were on shore. At daybreak, Nelson, who 
had slept in his own ship, the St. George, rowed to the 
Eleplicmt, and his delight at finding her afloat seemed to 
give him new life. There he took a hasty breakfast, prais- 
ing the men for their exertions, and then pushed off to the 
prizes which had not yet been removed. The Zealand, 
74, the last which struck, had drifted on the shoal under 
the Trekroner; and relying, as it seems, upon the protec- 
tion which that battery might have afforded, refused to 
acknowledge herself captured, saying that, though it was 
true her flag was not to be seen, her pendant was still 
flying. Nelson ordered one of our brigs and three long- 
boats to approach her, and rowed up himself to one of the 
enemy's ships, to communicate with the Commodore. This 
officer proved to be an old acquaintance, whom he had 
known in the West Indies ; so he invited himself on board ; 
and with that urbanity,^ as well as decision, which always 
characterised him, urged his claim to the Zealand so well, 
that it was admitted. The men from the boats lashed a 
cable round her bowsprit, and the gun- vessel towed her 
away. It is affirmed, and probably with truth, that the 
Danes felt more pain at beholding this than at all their mis- 
fortunes on the preceding day; and one of the officers. 
Commodore Steen Bille, went to the Trekroner battery, 
and asked the commander why he had not sunk the Zea- 
land, rather than suffer her thus to be carried off by the 
enemy ? ^ 

^Does urbanity mean " cityfiedness " ? 

^ Mr. Russell tells a good story of this capture, quoting from Bren- 
ton's Naval History (vol. i., p. 533). The Zealand had surrendered 
early in the action ; but as her pennant was still tlying at its close, 
though she had drifted under the Crown Battery, the Danes refused 
to give her up. Repeated embassies to her deck having availed 
nothing, as a last resort, Captain Otway was sent. In his boat's 
crew was a brazen-faced coxswain, whom he ordered, as soon as they 
came alongside the Zealand, to go up to the mast-head and bring 
down the pennant. While Captain Otway engaged the Captain of the 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 221 

This was, indeed, a mournful day for Copenhagen! It 
was Good Friday; but the general agitation, and the 
mourning which was in every house, made all distinction 
of days be forgotten. There were, at that hour, thousands 
in that city who felt, and more, perhaps, who needed, the 
consolations of Christianity; but few or none who could 
be calm enough to think of its observances. The English 
were actively employed in refitting their own ships, secur- 
ing the prizes, and distributing the prisoners; the Danes, 
in carrying on shore and disposing of the wounded and 
the dead. It had been a murderous action. Our loss, in 
killed and wounded, was nine hundred and fifty- three. 
Part of this slaughter might have been spared. The com- 
manding officer of the troops on board one of our ships 
asked where his men should be stationed ? He was told 
that they could be of no use; that they were not near 
enough for musketry, and were not wanted at the guns; 
they had, therefore, better go below. This, he said, was 
impossible — it would be a disgrace that could never be 
wiped away. They were, therefore, drawn up upon the 
gangway, to satisfy this cruel point of honour; and there, 
without the possibility of annoying the enemy, they were 
mowed down! The loss of the Danes, including prison- 
ers, amounted to about six thousand. The negotiations, 
meantime, went on; and it was agreed that Nelson should 
have an interview with the Prince the following day. 
Hardy and Fremantle landed with him. This was a thing 
as unexampled as the other circumstances of the battle. 
A strong guard was appointed to escort him to the palace, 
as much for the purpose of security as of honour. The 
populace, according to the British account, showed a mix- 
ture of admiration, curiosity, and displeasure, at beholding 
that man in the midst of them who had inflicted such 

Zealand in conversation, the man executed this commission and 
returned to his seat in the boat with the bunting concealed in 
his blouse. After much futile argument on Captain Otway's part, 
one of the Danish officers, to clinch the matter, declared that the 
vessel's pennant was still floating and invited him to look up and see 
it for himself. To the great surprise and mortification of the 
Danes, they were obliged to confess that the pennant was gone ; the 
ship must therefore, they were forced to acknowledge, have surren- 
dered ; and before the trick practised on them had been discovered, 
she was towed out of the harbor. 



222 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

wounds upon Denmark. But tliere were neither acclama- 
tions nor murmnrs. "The people/' says a Dane, ''did 
not degrade themselves with the former, nor disgrace 
themselves with the latter : the Admiral was received as 
one brave enemy ever ought to receive another — he was re- 
ceived with respect." The preliminaries of the negotia- 
tions were adjusted at this interview. During the repast 
which followed, Nelson, with all the sincerity of his char- 
acter, bore willing testimony to the valour of his foes. He 
told the Prince that he had been in a hundred and five en- 
gagements, but that this was the most tremendous of all. 
'' The French," he said, " fought bravely; but they could 
not have stood for one hour the fight which the Danes had 
supported for four." He requested that Villemoes might 
be introduced to him; and, shaking hands with the youth, 
told the Prince that he ought to be made an admiral. The 
Prince replied: "If, my lord, I am to make all my brave 
officers admirals, I should have no captains or lieutenants 
in my service." ^ 

The sympathy of the Danes for their countrymen who 
had. bled in their defence was not weakened by distance of 
time or place in this instance. Things needful for the 
service or the comfort of the wounded were sent in profu- 
sion to the hospitals, till the superintendents gave public 
notice that they could receive no more. On the third day 
after the action the dead were buried in the JSTaval church- 
yard : the ceremony was made as public and as solemn as 
the occasion required; such a procession had never before 
been seen in that or, perhaps, in any other city. A public 
monument was erected upon the spot where the slain were 
gathered together. A subscription was opened on the day 
of the funeral for the relief of the sufferers, and collec- 
tions in aid of it made throughout all the churches in the 
kingdom. This appeal to the feelings of the people was 
made with circumstances which gave it full effect. A 
monument was raised in the midst of the church, sur- 
mounted by the Danish colours : young maidens, dressed in 
white, stood round it, with either one who had been 
wounded in the battle, or the widow and orphans of some 
one who had fallen : a suitable oration was delivered from 
the pulpit, and patriotic hymns and songs were afterwards 

' See p. 369. 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 223 

performed. Medals were distributed to all the officers, and 
to the men who had distinguished themselves. Poets 
and painters vied with each other in celebrating a battle 
which, disastrous as it was, had yet been honourable to their 
country : some, with pardonable sophistry, represented the 
advantage of the day as on their own side. One writer dis- 
covered a more curious, but less disputable, ground of sat- 
isfaction, in the reflection that Nelson, as may be inferred 
from his name, was of Danish descent, and his actions, 
therefore, the Dane argued, were attributable to Danish 
valour.^ 

The negotiation was continued during the five following 
days; and, in that interval, the prizes were disposed of, in 
a manner which was little approved by Nelson. Six line 
of battle ships and eight praams had been taken. Of these^ 
the Holstein, 64, was the only one which was sent home. 
The Zealand was a finer ship : but the Zealand, and all the 
others, were burnt, and their brass battering cannon sunk 
with the hulls in such shoal water, that, when the fleet re- 
turned from Eevel, they found the Danes with craft over 
the wrecks employed in getting the guns up again. Nelson, 
though he forebore from any public expression of displeas- 
ure at seeing the proofs and trophies of his victory destroyed, 
did not forget to represent to the Admiralty the case of 
those who were thus deprived of their prize-money. 
"Whether," said he to Earl St. Vincent, " Sir Hyde Par- 
ker may mention the subject to you, I know not; for he is 
rich, and does not want it: nor is it, you will believe me, 
any desire to get a few hundred pounds that actuates me to 
address this letter to you, but justice to the brave officers and 
men who fought on that day. It is true our opponents 
were in hulks and floats, only adapted for the position they 
were in ; but that made our battle so much the harder, and 
victory so much the more difficult to obtain. Believe me, 
I have weighed all the circumstances; and, in my con- 
science, I think that the King should send a gracious mes- 
sage to the House of Commons for a gift to this fleet : for 
what must be the natural feelings of the officers and men 
belonging to it, to see their rich Commander-in-Chief burn 
all the fruits of their victory, — which, if fitted up and sent 

^ They translated "Nelson" into a true Scandinavian patro- 
nymic, calling him " Neal's son." 



224 THE LIFE OF NELSON , [1801 

to England (as many of them might have been by disman- 
tling part of our fleet), would have sold for a good round 
sum ? ' ' 

On the 9th, Nelson landed again, to conclude the terms 
of the armistice. During its continuance the armed 
ships and vessels of Denmark were to remain in their 
then actual situation, as to armament, equipment, and 
hostile position; and the treaty of armed neutrality, as 
far as related to the co-operation of Denmark, was sus- 
pended. The prisoners were to be sent on shore; an ac- 
knowledgment being given for them, and for the wounded 
also, that they might be carried to Great Britain's credit 
in the account of war, in case hostilities should be re- 
newed. The British fleet was allowed to provide itself 
with all things requisite for the health and comfort of its 
men. A difficulty arose respecting the duration of the 
armistice. The Danish commissioners fairly stated their 
fears of Eussia; and JSTelson, with that frankness which 
sound policy and the sense of power seem often to require 
as well as justify in diplomacy, told them his reason for 
demanding a long term was, that he might have time to 
act against the Russian fleet, and then return to Copen- 
hagen, Neither party would yield upon this point; and 
one of the Danes hinted at the renewal of hostilities. 
(*' Renew hostilities! " cried Nelson to one of his friends, 
'i — for he understood French enough to comprehend what 
was said, though not to answer it in the same language, — 
"tell him we are ready at a moment! — ready to bombard 
this very night! " The conference, however, proceeded 
amicably on both sides; and as the commissioners could 
not agree upon this head, they broke up, leaving Nelson to 
settle it with the Prince. A levee was held forthwith in 
one of the state-rooms; a scene well suited for such a con- 
sultation : for all these rooms had been stript of their fur- 
niture, in fear of a bombardment. To a bombardment 
also Nelson was looking at this time : fatigue, and anxiety, 
and vexation at the dilatory measures of the Commander- 
in-Chief, combined to make him irritable : and as he was 
on the way to the Prince's dining-room, he whispered to 
the officer on whose arm he was leaning, '* Though I have 
only one eye, I can see that all this will burn well." After 
dinner he was closeted with the Prince; and they agreed 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 225 

that the armistice should continue fourteen weeks; and 
that, at its termination, fourteen days' notice should be 
given before the recommencement of hostilities. 

An official account of the battle ^ was published by Olf ert 
Fischer, the Danish Commander-in-Chief, in which it was 
asserted that our force was greatly superior; nevertheless, 
that two of our ships of the line had struck, that the others 
were so weakened, and especially Lord l^elson's own ship, 
as to fire only single shots for an hour before the end of the 
action ; and that this hero himself, in the middle and very 
heat of the conflict, sent a flag of truce on shore to pro- 
pose a cessation of hostilities. For the truth of this ac- 
count the Dane appealed to the Prince, and all those who, 
like him, had been eye-witnesses of the scene. Nelson was 
exceedingly indignant at such a statement, and addressed 
a letter in confutation of it, to the Adjutant- G-eneral, Lind- 
holm; thinking this incumbent upon him, for the infor- 
mation of the Prince, since his Koyal Highness had been 
appealed to as a witness: ^'Otherwise," said he, ^'had 
Commodore Fischer confined himself to his own veracity, 
I should have treated his official letter with the contempt 
it deserved, and allowed the world to appreciate the merits 
of the two contending officers. ' ' After pointing out and 
detecting some of the misstatements in the account, he 
proceeds: "As to his nonsense about victory, his Eoyal 
Highness will not much credit him. I sunk, burned, cap- 
tured, or drove into the harbour, the whole line of defence 
to the southward of the Crown Islands. He says he is told 
that two British ships struck. Why did he not take pos- 
session of them ? I took possession of his as fast as they 
struck. The reason is clear, that he did not believe it : he 
must have known the falsity of the report. — He states, that 
the ship in which I had the honour to hoist my flag fired 
latterly only single guns. It is true; for steady and cool 
were my brave fellows, and did not wish to throw away a 
single shot. He seems to exult that I sent on shore a flag 
of truce. — You know, and liis Royal Highness knows, that 
the guns fired from the shore could only fire through the 
Danish ships which had surrendered ; and that, if I fired 

^ There is an interesting account of the battle by Niebuhr, the 
celebrated historian, the same who distinguished himself by proving 
that much of our knowledge of early Roman history is mythical. 

15 



226 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

at tlie shore, it could only be in the same manner. God 
forbid that I should destroy an unresisting Dane ! When 
they became my prisoners, I became their protector." 

This letter was written in terms of great asperity against 
the Danish commander. Lindholm replied in a manner 
every way honourable to himself. He vindicated the Com- 
modore in some points, and excused him in others, remind- 
ing ISTelson that every commander-in-chief was liable to 
receive incorrect reports. With a natural desire to repre- 
sent the action in a most favourable light to Denmark, he 
took into the comparative strength of the two parties the 
ships which were aground, and which could not get into 
action : and omitted the Trekroner and the batteries upon 
Amak Island. He disclaimed all idea of claiming as a 
victory, "what to every intent and j)urpose," said he, 
'^was a defeat, — but not an inglorious one. As to your 
lordship's motive for sending a flag of truce, it never can 
be misconstrued ; and your subsequent conduct has suffi- 
ciently shown that humanity is always the companion of 
true valour. You have done more : you have shown your- 
self a friend to the re-establishment of peace and good 
harmony between this country and Great Britain. It is, 
tlierefore, with the sincerest esteem I shall alv/ays feel my- 
self attached to your lordship." Thus handsomely wind- 
ing up his reply, he soothed and contented Nelson; who, 
drawing up a memorandum of the comparative force of 
the two parties, for his own satisfaction, assured Lindholm, 
that if the Commodore's statement had been in the same 
manly and honourable strain, he would have been the last 
man to have noticed any little inaccuracies which might 
get into a commander-in-chief's public letter. 

Eor the battle of Copenhagen, Nelson was raised to the 
rank of Viscount : an inadequate mark of reward for ser- 
vices so splendid, and of such paramount im|)ortance to the 
dearest interests of England. ^ There was, however, some 
prudence in dealing out honours to him step by step; had 
he lived long enough, he would have fought his way up to 
a Dukedom. 

^ The greatest of Nelson's rewards for this victory, a reward be- 
side which even a dukedom would have seemed poor, was bestowed 
upon him by Thomas Campbell in his noble poem, the Battle of the 
Baltic. 



CHAPTER VIIL 

Sir Hyde Parker is recalled, and Nelson appointed Commander— 
He goes to Eevel — Settlement of Affairs in the Baltic — Unsuccessful 
Attempt upon the Flotilla at Boulogne — Peace of Amiens — Nelson 
takes the Command in the Mediterranean on the Renewal of the 
War — Escape of the Toulon Fleet — Nelson chases thern to the West 
Indies, and back — Delivers up his Squadron to Admiral Cornwallis, 
and lands in England. 

When" Nelson informed Earl St. Vincent that the ar- 
mistice had been concluded^ he told him also^, without re- 
serve^, his own discontent at the dilatoriness and indecision 
which he witnessed^ and could not remedy. " No man/' 
said he, " but those who are on the spot, can tell what I 
haye gone through, and do sutler. I make no scruple in 
saying, that I would have been at Reyel fourteen days ago ! 
that, without this armistice, the fleet would never have 
gone, but by order of the Admiralty; and with it, I dare 
say, we shall not go this week. I wanted Sir Hyde to let 
me, at least, go and cruise off Carlscrona, to prevent the 
Eevel ships from getting in. I said I would not go to 
Revel to take any of those laurels which I was sure he 
would reap there. Think for me, my dear lord; — and if 
I have deserved well, let me return: if ill, for Heaven's 
sake supersede me, — for I cannot exist in this state." 

Eatigue, incessant anxiety, and a climate little suited to 
one of a tender constitution, which had now for many 
years been accustomed to more genial latitudes, made him, 
at this time, seriously determine upon returning home. 
''If the northern business were not settled," he said, 
''they must send more admirals; for the keen air of the 
north had cut him to the heart." He felt the want of ac- 
tivity and decision in the Commander-in-Ohief more keenly; 
and this affected his spirits, and consequently his health, 
more than the inclemency of the Baltic. ^ Soon after the 

^ Colonel Stewart, who was with him at this time, tells us that 
Nelson was perpetually active in looking after stores and providing 



228 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

armistice was signed. Sir Hyde proceeded to the eastward, 
with such ships as were fit for service, leaving Nelson to 
follow with the rest, as soon as those which had received 
slight damages should be repaired, and the rest sent to 
England. In passing between the isles of Amak and Salt- 
holm, most of the ships touched the ground, and some of 
them stuck fast for a while; no serious injury, however, 
was sustained. It Avas intended to act against the Rus- 
sians first, before the breaking up of the frost should en- 
able them to leave Revel ; but, learning on the way that 
the Swedes had put to sea to effect a junction with them, Sir 
Hyde altered his course, in hopes of intercepting this part 
of the enemy's force. Nelson had, at this time, provided 
for the more pressing emergencies of the service, and pre- 
pared, on the 18th, to follow the fleet. The St. George 
drew too much water to pass the channel between the isles 
without being lightened: the guns were therefore taken 
out, and put on board an American vessel : a contrary wind, 
however, prevented Nelson from moving; and on that 
same evening, while he was thus delayed, information 
reached him of the relative situation of the Swedish and 
British fleets, and the probability of an action. The fleet 
was nearly ten leagues distant; and. both wind and current 
contrary; but it was not possible that Nelson could wait 
for a favourable season under such an expectation. He 
ordered his boat immediately and stepped into it. Night 
was setting in, — one of the cold spring nights of the north, 

for the health of his men, and gives lis the following account of his 
personal habits : " His hour of rising was four or five o'clock, and of 
going to rest about ten ; breakfast was never later than six, and gen- 
erally nearer to five o'clock. A midshipman or two were always of 
the party ; and I have known him send during the middle watch 
(from 2 to 4 a.m.), to invite the little fellows to breakfast with him 
when relieved. At table with them, he would enter into their boyish 
jokes, and be the most youthful of the party. At dinner he invariably 
had every officer of the ship in their turn, and was both a polite and 
hospitable host. The whole ordinary business of the fleet was invari- 
ably despatched . . . before eight o'clock. The great command 
of time which Lord Nelson thus gave himself, and the alertness which 
this example imparted throughout the fleet, can only be understood 
by those who witnessed it, or who know the value of early hours." 
He is said to have remarked to General Twiss : *' Time, Twiss, time 
is everything. Five minutes make the difference between a victory 
and a defeat." 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 229 

— and it was discovered, soon after tliey had left the 
ship, that, in their haste, they had forgotten to provide 
him with a boat-cloak. He, however, forbade them to 
return for one: and when one of his companions offered 
his own great-coat, and urged him to make use of it, he 
replied, "I thank you very much, — but, to tell you 
the truth, my anxiety keeps me sufficiently warm at 
present." 

" Do you think," said he, presently, '^ that our fleet has 
quitted Bornholm ? If it has, we must follow it to Carls- 
crona." About midnight he reached it, and once more 
got on board the Eleplicmt. On the following morning 
the Swedes were discovered; as soon, however, as they per- 
ceived the Engii-sh approaching, they retired, and took 
shelter in Carlscrona, behind the batteries on the island, 
at the entrance of the port. Sir Hyde sent in a flag of 
truce, stating that Denmark had concluded an armistice, 
and requiring an explicit declaration from the court of 
Sweden, whether it would adhere to, or abandon, the hostile 
measures which it had taken against the rights and inter- 
ests of Great Britain ? The commander. Vice- Admiral 
Oronstadt, replied, ^'that he could not answer a question 
which did not come within the particular circle of his 
duty; but that the King was then at Maloe, and would 
soon be at Carlscrona." Gustavus shortly afterwards ar- 
rived, and an answer was then returned to this effect: 
'' That his Swedish Majesty would not, for a moment, fail 
to fulfil, with fidelity and sincerity, the engagements he 
had entered into with his allies; but he would not re- 
fuse to listen to equitable proposals made by deputies fur- 
nished with proper authority by the King of Great Britain 
to the united JSTorthern Powers. ' ' Satisfied with this an- 
swer, and with the known disposition of the Swedish 
court, Sir Hyde sailed for the Gulf of Finland; but he 
had not proceeded far before a despatch boat, from the 
Russian Ambassador at Copenhagen, arrived, bringing intel- 
ligence of the death of the Emperor Paul; and that his 
successor, Alexander, had accepted the offer made by Eng- 
land to his father, of terminating the dispute by a conven- 
tion; the British Admiral was therefore required to desist 
from all further hostilities. 

It was Nelson's maxim that, to negotiate with effect, 



230 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

force should be at hand, and in a situation to act.^ The 
fleet, having been reinforced from England, amounted to 
eighteen sail of the line ; and the wind was fair for Eevel. 
There he would have sailed immediately, to place himself 
between that division of the Russian fleet and the squad- 
ron at Oronstadt, in case this oft'er should prove insincere. 
Sir Hyde, on the other hand, believed that the death of 
Paul had effected all that was necessary. The manner of 
that death,^ indeed, rendered it apparent that a change 
of policy would take place in the cabinet of Petersburg; 
but Nelson never trusted anything to the uncertain events 
of time which could possibly be secured by promptitude or 
resolution. It was not, therefore, without severe mortifica- 
tion that he saw the Commander-in-Chief return to the 
coast of Zealand, and anchor in Kioge Bay, there to wait 
patiently for what might happen. 

There the fleet remained, till despatches arrived from 
home, on the 5th of May, recalling Sir Hyde, and ai^point- 
ing Nelson Commander-in-Chief. 

Nelson wrote to Earl St. Vincent that he was unable to 
hold this honourable station. Admiral Graves also was so 
ill, as to be confined to his bed ; and he entreated that some 
person might come out and take the command. " I will 
endeavour," said he, " to do my best while I remain:' but, 
my dear lord, I shall either soon go to heaven, I hope, or 
must rest quiet for a time. If Sir Hyde were gone, I would 
now be under sail." On the day when this was written 
he received news of his appointment. Not a moment 
was now lost. His first signal, as Commander-in-Chief, 
was to hoist in all launches, and prepare to weigh: and 
on the 7th he sailed from Kioge. Part of his fleet was 
left at Bornholm to watch the Swedes: from whom he re- 
quired, and obtained, an assurance, that the British trade 
in the Cattegat, and in the Baltic, should not be molested ; 
and saying how unpleasant it would be to him if anything 
should happen which might, for a moment, disturb the 
returning harmony between Sweden and Great Britaki, he 
apprised them that he was not directed to abstain from hos- 

^ " To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual ways of pre- 
serving peace." Washington, Speech to both Eouses of Congress, 
January 8, 1790. 

2 He was strangled by conspirators. 



1801] TEE LIFE OF NELSON 231 

tilities sliould lie meet with the Swedish fleet at sea. Mean- 
time he himself^ with ten sail of the line, two frigates, a 
brig, and a schooner, made for the Gulf of Finland. Paul, 
in one of the freaks of his tyranny, had seized upon all the 
British effects in Knssia, and even considered British sub- 
jects as his prisoners. " I will have all the English ship- 
ping and property restored, ' ' said Nelson, ' ^ but I will do 
nothing violently, — neither commit the affairs of my coun- 
try, nor suffer Kussia to mix the affairs of Denmark or 
Sweden with the detention of our ships." The wind was 
fair, and carried him in four days to Revel Roads. But 
the bay had been clear of firm ice on the 29tli of April, 
while the English were lying idly at Kioge. The Russians 
had cut through the ice in the mole six feet thick, and their 
whole squadron had sailed for Cronstadt on the 3d. Before 
that time it had lain at the mercy of the English. — 
^' JSTothing," Nelson said, "if it had been right to make 
the attack, could have saved one ship of them in two 
hours after our entering the bay." 

It so happened that there was no cause to regret the 
opportunity which had been lost, and Nelson immediately 
put the intentions of Russia to the proof. He sent on 
shore to say, that he came with friendly views, and was 
ready to return a salute. On their part the salute was de- 
layed, till a message was sent to them to inquire for what 
reason: and the officer, whose neglect had occasioned the 
delay, was put under arrest. Nelson wrote to the Em- 
peror, proposing to wait on him jDersonally, and congratu- 
late him on his accession, and urged the immediate release 
of British subjects, and restoration of British property. 

The answer arrived on the 16th: Nelson, meantime, had 
exchanged visits with the Governor, and the most friendly 
intercourse had subsisted between the shijDS and the shore. 
Alexander's ministers, in their reply, expressed their sur- 
prise at the arrival of a British fleet in a Russian port, 
and their wish that it should return: they professed, on 
the part of Russia, the most friendly disposition towards 
Great Britain, but declined the personal visit of Lord Nel- 
son, unless he came in a single ship. There was a suspi- 
cion implied in this which stung Nelson; and he said the 
Russian ministers would never have written thus if their 
fleet had been at Revel. He wrote an immediate reply, 



232 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

expressing what lie felt : lie told the court of Petersburg, 
" that the word of a British Admiral, when given in ex- 
planation of any part of his condnct, was as sacred as that 
of any sovereign in Europe." And he repeated, "that, 
under other circumstances, it would have been his anxious 
wish to have paid his personal respects to the Emperor, and 
signed with his own hand the act of amity between the two 
countries." Having despatched this, he stood out to sea 
immediately, leaving a brig to bring oif the provisions which 
had been contracted for, and to settle the accounts. "I 
hope all is right, ' ' said he, writing to our Ambassador at 
Berlin; "but seamen are but bad negotiators; for we put 
to issue in five minutes what diplomatic forms would be 
five months doing." 

On his way down the Baltic, however, he met the Rus- 
sian Admiral Tchitchagof, whom the Emperor, in reply to 
Sir Hyde's overtures, had sent to communicate personally 
with the British Commander-in-Chief. The reply was 
such as had been wished and expected : and these negoti- 
ators going, seaman-like, straight to their object, satisfied 
each other of the friendly intentions of their respective 
governments. Nelson then anchored off Rostock; and 
there he received an answer to his last despatch from 
Revel, in which the Russian court expressed their regret 
that there should have been any misconception between 
them, informed him that the British vessels which Paul 
had detained were ordered to be liberated, and invited him 
to Petersburg in whatever mode might be most agreeable 
to himself. Other honours awaited him: — the Duke of 
Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the Queen's brother, came to visit 
him on board his ship; and towns of the inland parts of 
Mecklenburg sent deputations, with their public books of 
record, that they might have the name of Nelson in them 
written by his own hand. 

From Rostock, the fleet returned to Kioge Bay. Nelson 
saw that the temper of the Danes towards England was 
such as naturally arose from the chastisement which they 
had so recently received, f^ In this nation," said he, " we 
shall not be forgiven for having the upper hand of them: 
I only thank God we have, or they would try to humble 
us to the dust." He saw also that the Danish cabinet was 
completely subservient to France : a French officer was at 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 233 

this time the companion and counsellor of the Crown 
Prince; and things were done in such open violation of 
the armistice^ that Nelson thought a second infliction of 
vengeance would soon be necessary. He wrote to the Ad- 
miralty, requesting a clear and explicit reply to his inquiry. 
Whether the Commander-in-Chief was at liberty to hold 
the language becoming a British Admiral? '^^ Which, 
very probably," said he, " if I am here, will break the 
armistice, and set Copenhagen in a blaze. I see everything 
which is dirty and mean going on, and the Prince Eoyal at 
the head of it. Ships have been masted, guns taken on 
board, floating batteries prepared, and, except hauling out 
and completing their rigging, everything is done in defi- 
ance of the treaty. My heart burns at seeing the word of 
a Prince, nearly allied to our good king, so falsified; but 
his conduct is such, that he will lose his kingdom if he 
goes on, for Jacobins rule in Denmark. I have made no 
representations yet, as it would be useless to do so until I 
have the power of correction. All I beg, in the name of 
the future Commander-in-Chief, is, that the orders may be 
clear ; for enough is done to break twenty treaties if it 
should be wished, or to make the Prince Royal humble him- 
self before British generosity." 

Nelson was not deceived in his judgment of the Danish 
Cabinet, but the battle of Copenhagen had crippled its 
power. The death of the Czar Paul had broken the con- 
federacy; and that Cabinet, therefore, was compelled to 
defer, till a more convenient season, the indulgence of its 
enmity towards Great Britain. Soon afterwards, Vice- 
Ad mi ral Sir Charles Maurice Pole arrived to take the com- 
mand. The business, military and political, had by that 
time been so far completed, that the presence of the British 
fleet soon became no longer necessary. Sir Charles, how- 
ever, made the short time of his command memorable, by 
passing the G-reat Belt, for the first time, with line of bat- 
tle ships; working through the channel against adverse 
winds. When Nelson left the fleet, this speedy termina- 
tion of the expedition, though confidently expected, was 
not certain; and he, in his unwillingness to weaken the 
British force, thought at one time of traversing Jutland 
in his boat, by the canal, to Tonningen on the Eyder, and 
finding his way home from thence. This intention was 



234 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

not executed ; but lie returned in a brig, declining to accept 
a frigate : wliicli few admirals would have done, especially 
if, like liim, tliey suffered from seasickness in a small ves- 
sel.^ On liis arrival at Yarmouth, the first thing he did 
was to visit the hospital, and see the men who had been 
wounded in the late battle : — that victory which had added 
a new glory to the name of Nelson, and which was of more 
importance, even than the battle of the Nile, to the honour, 
the strength, and security of England. 

The feelings of Nelson's friends, upon the news of his 
great victory at Copenhagen, were highly described by Sir 
William Hamilton, in a letter to him. ' ' We can only ex- 
pect, ' ' he says, ' ' what we know well, and often said before, 
that Nelson ioas, is, and to the last will ever le, the first. 
Emma did not know whether she was on her head or heels 
— in such a hurry to tell your great news, that she could 
utter nothing but tears of joy and tenderness. I went to 
Davison, and found him still in bed, having had a severe 
fit of the gout, and with your letter, which he had just 
received ; and he cried like a child : but what was very ex- 
traordinary, assured me that, from the instant he had read 
your letter, all pain had left him, and that he felt himself 
able to get up and walk about. Your brother, Mrs. Nel- 
son, and Horace dined with us. Your brother was more 
extraordinary than ever. He would get up suddenly, and 
cut a caper; rubbing his hands every time that the thought 
of your fresh laurels came into his head. In short, except 
myself (and your Lordship knows that I have some phlegm) , 
all the company, which was considerable after dinner, were 
mad with joy. But I am sure that no one really rejoiced 
more at heart than I did. I have lived too long to have 
ecstasies! But with calm reflection, I felt for my friend 
having got to the very summit of glory ! the ne plu's^ ultra ! 
that he has had another opportunity of rendering his coun- 
try the most important service, and manifesting again his 
judgment, his intrepidity, and his humanity." 

'"Leaving," says Mr. Laughton, "a farewell address to the 
admirals, captains, officers, and men, thanking them for the noble 
and honorable support they had given him, and attributing the 
extraordinary good health of the fleet ' to the regularity, exact dis- 
cipline, and cheerful obedience of every individual in it ; ' but, as if 
to mark that his praise was not a mere complimentary form, he 
specially excepted the officers of two of the gun-brigs and a bomb." 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 235 

He had not been many weeks on shore before he was called 
upon to undertake a service for which no Nelson was re- 
quired. Buonaparte, who was now First Consul, and in 
reality sole ruler of France, was making preparations, 
upon a great scale, for invading England : but his schemes 
in the Baltic had been baffled : fleets could not be created 
as they were wanted; and his armies, therefore, were to 
come over in gun-boats, and such small craft as could be 
rapidly built or collected for the occasion. From the 
former governments of France, such threats have only 
been matter of insult 'or policy : in Buonaparte they were 
sincere: for this adventurer, intoxicated with success, al- 
ready began to imagine that all things were to be submit- 
ted to his fortune. We had not at that time proved the 
superiority of our soldiers over the French; and the unre- 
flecting multitude were not to be persuaded that an inva- 
sion could only be effected by numerous and powerful 
fleets. A general alarm was excited: and, in condescen- 
sion to this unworthy feeling, Nelson was appointed to a 
command extending from Orfordness to Beachy Head, on 
both shores; — a sort of service, he said, for which he felt no 
other ability than what might be found in his zeal. 

To this service, however, such as it was, he applied with 
his wonted alacrity, though in no cheerful frame of mind. 
To Lady Hamilton, his only female correspondent, he says at 
this time — '' I am not in very good spirits; and except that 
our country demands all our services and abilities to bring 
about an honourable peace, nothing should prevent my 
being the bearer of my own letter. But, my dear friend, 
I know you are so true and loyal an Englishwoman, that 
you would hate those who would not stand forth in de- 
fence of our King, laws, religion, and all that is dear to us. 
— It is your sex that makes us go forth, and seems to tell us, 
' None but the brave deserve the fair; ' — and if we fall, we 
still live in the hearts of those females. It is your sex 
that rewards us, it is your sex who cherish our memories; 
and you, my dear honoured friend, are, believe me, the 
first, the best of your sex. I have been the world around, 
and in every corner of it, and never yet saw your equal, or 
even one who could be put in comparison with you. You 
know how to reward virtue, honour, and courage, and 
never to ask if it is placed in a prince, duke, lord, or peas- 



236 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

ant." Having hoisted his flag in the Medusa frigate, he 
went to reconnoitre Boulogne; the point from which it was 
supposed the great attempt would be made, and which the 
French, in fear of an attack themselves, were fortifying with 
all care. He approached near enough to sink two^ of their 
floating batteries, and destroy a few gun-boats which were 
without the pier; what damage was done within could not 
be ascertained. ' ' Boulogne, ' ' he said, ' ' was certainly not a 
very pleasant place that morning: — but," he added, " it is 
not my wish to injure the poor inhabitants; and the town 
is spared as much as the nature of the service will admit. ' ' 
Enough was done to show the enemy that they could not, 
with impunity, come outside their own ports. Nelson was 
satisfied, by what he saw, that they meant to make an 
attempt from this place, but that it was impracticable; for 
the least wind at W.N.W., and they were lost. The ports 
of Flushing and Flanders were better points: there w^e 
could not tell by our eyes what means of transport were 
provided. From thence, therefore, if it came forth at all, 
the expedition would come: — " And what a forlorn under- 
taking! " said he: " consider cross tides, etc. As for row- 
ing, tliat is impossible. It is perfectly right to be prepared 
for a mad government : but with the active force which has 
been given me, I may pronounce it almost imj)racticable. " 
That force had been got together with an alacrity which 
has seldom been equalled. On the 28th of July we were, 
in Nelson's own words, literally at the foundation of our 
fabric of defence: and twelve days afterwards we were so 
prepared on the enemy's coast, that he did not believe 
they could get three miles from their ports. The Medusa, 
returning to our own shores, anchored in the rolling 
ground^ ofl' Harwich; and when Nelson wished to get to 
the Nore in her, the wind rendered it impossible to pro- 
ceed there by the usual channel. In haste to be at the 
Nore, remembering that he had been a tolerable pilot 
for the mouth of the Thames in his younger days, and 
thinking it necessary that he should know all that could 
be known of the navigation, he requested the maritime 
surveyor of the coast, Mr. Spence, to get him into the 
Swin, by any channel : for neither the pilots whom he had 

^ An exposed anchorage in shallow water, a combination which 
produces a very choppy sea. 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 237 

on board, nor the Harwich ones, would take charge of the 
ship. No vessel drawing more than fourteen feet had ever 
before ventured over the Naze. Mr. Spence, however, 
who had surveyed the channel, carried her safely through. 
The channel has since been called Nelson's, though he 
himself wished it to be named after the Medusa: his 
name needed no new memorial. 

Nelson's eye was upon Flushing : — " To take possession of 
that place," he said, " would be a week's expedition for four 
or five thousand troops." This, however, required a con- 
sultation with the Admiralty; and that something might 
be done meantime, he resolved upon attacking the flotilla 
in the mouth of Boulogne Harbour. This resolution was 
made in deference to the opinion of others, and to the 
public feeling which was so preposterously excited. He 
himself scrupled not to assert, that the French army would 
never embark at Boulogne for the invasion of England; 
and he owned, that this boat-warfare Avas not exactly con- 
genial to his feelings. Into Helvoet or Flushing he should 
be happy to lead, if Government turned their thoughts 
that way. " While I serve," said he, " I will do it actively, 
and to the very best of my abilities. — I require nursing like 
a child," he added; "my mind carries me beyond my 
strength, and will do me up: — but such is my nature." 

The attack was made by the boats of the squadron in five 
divisions, under Captains Somerville, Parker, Ootgrave, 
Jones, and Conn. The previous essay had taught the 
French the weak parts of their position; and they omitted 
no means of strengthening it, and of guarding against the 
expected attempt. The boats put off about half an hour 
before midnight; but, owing to the darkness, and tide and 
half-tide,^ which must always make night-attacks^ so un- 
certain on the coasts of the Channel, the divisions sepa- 
rated. One could not arrive at all; another not till near 
daybreak. The others made their attack gallantly; but 
the enemy were fully prepared : every vessel was defended 

^ When the stream continues to flow up for three hours after it is 
high water, it is said to make tide and half-tide. 

^ " At lucem multnm per se pudorem omnium oculis, multum 
etiam tribunorum militum et centurionum pra^sentiam afferre ; 
quibus rebus coerceri milites et in officio contineri soleant." — Cassar, 
T)e Bello Civili, i., 67. The student will remember how much trouble 
the Channel tides caused Caesar when he invaded Britain. 



238 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

by long poles^ lieaded with iron spikes, projecting from 
their sides : strong nettings were braced np to their lower 
yards; they were moored by the bottom to the shore,* and 
chained one to another; they were strongly manned with 
soldiers, and protected by land-batteries, and the shore was 
lined with troops. Many were taken possession of; and, 
though they could not have been brought out, would have 
been burned, had not the French resorted to a mode of 
oifence, which they have often used, but which no other 
people have ever been wicked enough to employ. The 
moment the firing ceased on board one of their own ves- 
sels, they fired upon it from the shore, perfectly regardless 
of their own men. 

The commander of one of the French divisions acted 
like a generous enemy. He hailed the boats as they ap- 
proached, and cried out in English, "Let me advise you, 
my brave Englishmen, to keep your distance : you can do 
nothing here; and it is only uselessly shedding the blood 
of brave men to make the attempt." The French official 
account boasted of the victory. ' ' The combat, ' ' it said, 
"took place in sight of both countries; it was the first of 
the kind, and the historian would have cause to make this 
remark. ' ' They guessed our loss at four or five hundred : — 
it amounted to one hundred and seventy-two. In his pri- 
vate letters to the Admiralty, Nelson affirmed that had our 
force arrived as he intended, it was not all the chains in 
France which could have prevented our men from bring- 
ing off the whole of the vessels. There had been no error 
committed, and never did Englishmen display more cour- 
age.^ Upon this point Nelson was fully satisfied; but he 
said he should never bring himself again to allow any 

* In the former editions I had stated, upon what appeared authen- 
tic information, that the boats were chained one to another. Nelson 
himself believed this. But I have been assured that it was not the 
case, by M. de Bercet, who, when I had the pleasure of seeing him 
in 1825, was (and I hope still is) Commandant of Boulogne. The 
word of this brave and loyal soldier is as little to be doubted as his 
worth. He is the last survivor of Charette's band ; and his own 
memoirs, could he be persuaded to write them (a duty which he owes 
to his country as well as to himself) would form a redeeming episode 
in the history of the French Hevolution. — Southey^s Note. 

^"The most astonishing bravery," he wrote, "was evinced by 
many of our officers and men. No person can be blamed for send- 
ing them to the attack but myself." 



1801] TEE LIFE OF NELSON 239 

attack wherein he was not personally concerned ; and that 
his mind suffered more than if he had had a leg shot off 
in the affair. He grieved particularly for Captain Parker/ — 
an excellent officer^ to whom he was greatly attached^ and 
who had an aged father looking to him for assistance. His 
thigh was shattered in the action, and the wound proved 
mortal, after some weeks of suffering and manly resigna- 
tion. During this interval, Nelson's anxiety was very 
great. " Hear Parker is my child," said he, " for I found 
him in distress." And, when he received the tidings of 
his death, he replied: — "You will judge of my feelings: 
God's will be done. I beg that his hair may be cut off 
and given me; — it shall be buried in my grave. Poor Mr. 
Parker ! What a son has he lost ! If I were to say I was 
content, I should lie; but I shall endeavour to submit 
with all the fortitude in my power. — His loss has made a 
wound in my heart which time will hardly heal." 

" You ask me, my dear friend," he says to Lady Ham- 
ilton, " if I am going on more expeditions? and even if 
I v/as to forfeit your friendship, which is dearer to me than 
all the world, I can tell you nothing. For, I go out: if I 
see the enemy, and can get at them, it is my duty : and you 
would, naturally hate me, if I kept back one moment. — I 
long to pay them, for their tricks t'other day, the debt of 
a drubbing, which surely I'll pay: but lulien, tvliere, or 
hoiu, it is impossible, your own good sense must tell you, for 
me or mortal man to say. ' ' Yet he now wished to be re- 
lieved from this service. The country, he said, had at- 
tached a confidence to his name, which he had submitted 
to, and therefore had cheerfully repaired to the station; 
but this boat business, though it might be part of a great 
plan of invasion, could never be the only one, and he did 
not think it was a command for a Vice-Admiral. It was 
not that he wanted a more lucrative situation ; — for, seriously 
indisposed as he was, and low-spirited from private consid- 
erations, he did not know, if the Mediterranean were va- 
cant, that he should be equal to undertake it. He was 
offended with the Admiralty for refusing him leave to go 
to town when he had solicited; in reply to a friendly letter 
from Troubridge he says, " I am at this moment as firmly 

^ It is said that Parker used to sit next him at table to cut up his 
meat. 



240 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

of opinion as evei% that Lord St. Vincent and yourself 
should have allowed of my coming to town for my own 
affairs^, for every one knows I left it without a thought for 
myself." His letters at this time breathe an angry feeling 
toward Troubridge^ who was now become, he said, one of 
his lords and masters, — "I have a letter from him," he 
says, " recommending me to wear flannel shirts. Does he 
care for me ? i^o : but never mind. They shall work 
hard to get me again. The cold has settled in my bowels. 
I wish the Admiralty had my complaint : but they have no 
bowels, at least for me. — I dare say Master Troubridge is 
grown fat; I know I am grown lean with my complaint, 
which, but for their indifference about my health, could 
never have happened; or, at least, I should have got well 
long ago in a warm room with a good fire and sincere 
friend." In the same tone of bitterness, he complained 
that he was not able to promote those whom he thought 
deserving: "Troubridge," he says, ''has so com23letely 
prevented my ever mentioning anybody's service, that I 
am become a cipher, and he has gained a victory over Nel- 
son's spirit. I am kept here, for what ? — he may be able to 
tell, I cannot. But long it cannot — shall not be." An 
end was put to this uncomfortable state of mind when, 
fortunately (on that account) for him, as well as happily 
for the nation, the peace of Amiens was, just at this time, 
signed. 1 Nelson rejoiced that the experiment was made, 
but was well aware that it was an experiment; he saw 
what he called the misery of peace, unless the utmost vigil- 
ance and prudence were exerted ; and he expressed, in bitter 
terms, his proper indignation at the manner in which the 
mob of London welcomed the French General, who brough,t 
the ratification: saying, "that they made him ashamed of _a 
his country." il 

He had purchased a house and estate at Merton, in Sur- f 

^Preliminaries of peace were signed October 1. "No person," 
wrote Nelson, " rejoices more in the peace than I do ; but I would 
sooner burst than let a Frenchman know it." He was impatient 
because he was not at once relieved. Probably, as Mr. Laughton 
remarks, both Troubridge and St. Vincent understood well enough 
that Nelson's chief malady was a discontented longing to be with 
Lady Hamilton. For the Peace of Amiens, see Gardiner, History of 
Eyigland, p. 846 ; Green, History of England, p. 819; Duruy, His- 
tory of France, p. 585. 



1801] THE LIFE OF NELSON 241 

rey; meaning to pass his days there in tlie society of Sir 
William and Lady Hamilton. ^ He had indulged in pleas- 
ant dreams when looking on to this as his place of resi- 
dence and rest.^ " To be sure/' he says^ " we shall employ 
the tradespeople of our village in preference to any others^ 

^ Merton is famous as the place where the statutes of Merton were 
framed, 1236, in an old abbey, of which a few walls remain. It is 
situated in Surrey, about eight miles from the heart of London, The 
property was purchased by Nelson for Lady Hamilton, and the trans- 
action was attended to in all its details by her. She appears to have 
been a good business woman ; Nelson indeed put implicit faith in 
her judgment. " You may rely upon one thing," he wrote, " that I 
shall like Merton ; therefore do not be uneasy on that account. I 
have that opinion of your taste and judgment, that I do not believe 
it can fail in pleasing me. ... I am sure you will soon make it 
the prettiest place in the world." On October 16, 1801, Sir William 
Hamilton wrote to him from Merton : ' ' We have now inhabited 
your Lordship's premises some days, and I can now speak with some 
certainty. I have lived with our dear Emma several years. I know 
her merit, have a great opinion of the head and heart that God 
Almighty has been pleased to give her, but a seaman alone could 
have given a fine woman full power to choose and fit up a residence 
for him without seeing it himself. You are in luck, for in my con- 
science I verily believe that a place so suitable to your views could 
not have been found, and at so cheap a rate — you might get a thou- 
sand pounds to-morrow for your bargain. It would make you laugh 
to see Emma and her mother fitting up pig-styes and hen-coops." 

From October, 1801, to May, 1803, Nelson and the Hamiltons lived 
together here and at 23 Piccadilly. An interesting picture of him 
has been left us by the lawyer who prepared the lease of the latter 
place. " At the time," says he, " when I went over the house with 
the upholsterer and a servant, who showed us the rooms for the pur- 
pose of taking a schedule of the fixtures, I observed an emaciated 
weather-beaten person, rather shabbily dressed, follow us from room 
to room with seeming anxiety. At length he said, ' Pray, gentlemen, 
what is it you are about ? ' I answered, ' We are taking a list of the 
fixtures in the house to annex by way of schedule to the lease.' 
' Oh, oh,' he replied, ' if that be the case, I think you should include 
me in the list.' He then seemed satisfied and left us. After his 
departure I inquired of the servant who this person was, when, to 
my great surprise, he told me it was Lord Nelson. I had looked but 
cursorily at him, and from the old crumpled hat he wore, and the 
striped old brown great-coat thrown over his shoulders, and his gen- 
eral appearance, I took him for some foreign refugee and hanger-on 
of Sir William's, as he had much the appearance of the French 
priests with whom the streets at that time were crowded." 

^ During this period of rest, Nelson and his friends took a journey 
to Wales, passing through Oxford, at which place both Sir William 
and himself were honored with the degree of D.C.L. 
16 



242 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1801 

in what we want for common use, and give them every 
encouragement to be kind and attentive to us." — "Have 
we a nice church at Merton ? A¥e will set an example of 
goodness to the under-parishioners. I admire the pigs and 
poultry. Sheep are certainly most beneficial to eat off the 
grass. Do you get paid for them, and take care that they 
are kept on the premises all night, for that is the time 
they do good to the land. They should be folded. Is your 
head man a good person, and true to our interest ? I in- 
tend to have a farming-book. I expect that all animals 
will increase where you are, for I never expect that you 
will suffer any to be killed. No person can take amiss our 
not visiting. The answer from me will always be very civil 
thanks, but that I wish to live retired. We shall have our 
sea-friends; and I know Sir William thinks they are the 
best." This place he had never seen till he was now wel- 
comed there by the friends to whom he had so passionately 
devoted himself, and who were not less sincerely attached 
to him. The place, and everything which Lady Hamilton 
had done to it, delighted him; and he declared that the 
longest liver should possess it all. Here he amused him- 
self with angling in the Wandle, having been a good fly- 
fisher in former days, and learning now to practise with 
his left hand,* what he could no longer pursue as a solitary 
diversion. His pensions for his victories, and for the loss 
of his eye and arm, amounted with his half -pay to about 
£3,400 a year.i From this he gave £1,800 to Lady Nelson, 
£200 to a brother's widow, and £150 for the education of 
his children; and he paid £500 interest for borrowed 
money; so that Nelson was comparatively a poor man; and 
though much of the pecuniary embarrassment which he en- 
dured was occasioned by the separation from his wife — even 
if that cause had not existed, his income would not have 
been sufficient for the rank which he held, and the claims 
which would necessarily be made upon his bounty. The 
depression of spirits under which he had long laboured arose 

* This is mentioned on the authority, and by the desire of Sir 
Humphrey Davy {Sahnonia, p. 6), whose name I write with the re- 
spect to which it is so justly entitled ; and, calling to mind the time 
when we were in habits of daily and intimate intercourse, with affec- 
tionate regret. — Southey's Note. 

' But see p. 181. 



1802] THE LIFE OF NELSON 243 

partly from this state of his circumstances, and. partly 
from the other disquietudes in which his connexion with 
Lady Hamilton had involved him; a connexion which it 
was not possible his father could behold without sorrow 
and displeasure. Mr. ISTelson, however, was soon per- 
suaded that the attachment, which Lady Nelson regarded 
with natural jealousy and resentment, did not, in reality, 
pass the bounds of ardent and romantic admiration; a 
passion which the manners and accomplishments of Lady 
Hamilton, fascinating as they were, would not have been 
able to excite, if they had not been accompanied by more 
uncommon intellectual endowments, and by a character 
which, both in its strength and in its weakness, resembled 
his own. It did not, therefore, require much explanation 
to reconcile him to his son; — an event the more essential 
to Nelson's happiness, because, a few months afterwards, 
the good old man died at the age of seventy-nine. 

Soon after the conclusion of peace, tidings arrived of 
our final and decisive successes in Egypt : ^ in consequence 
of which the Common Council voted their thanks to the 
army and navy for bringing the campaign to so glorious a 
conclusion. When Nelson, after the action of Cape St. 
Vincent, had been entertained at a city feast, he had ob- 
served to the Lord Mayor, "That, if the city continued 
its generosity, the navy would ruin them in gifts. ' ' To 
which the Lord Mayor replied, putting his hand upon the 
Admiral's shoulder, "Do you find victories, and we will 
find rewards," Nelson, as he said, had kept his word, — 
had doubly fulfilled his part of the contract, — but no 
thanks had been voted for the battle of Copenhagen; and, 
feeling that he and his companions in that day's glory had 
a fair and honouriible claim to this reward, he took the pres- 
ent opportunity of addressing a letter to the Lord Mayor, 
complaining of the omission and the injustice. "The 
smallest services," said he, " rendered by the army or navy 
to the country have always been noticed by the great city 
of London, with one exception : — the giorious 2nd of April : 
— a day when the greatest dangers of navigation were over- 

^ The French were defeated, March 21, 1801, by Sir Ralph Aber- 
crombie at the battle of Alexandria, and driven out of the country. 
See Gardiner, History of England, p. 844 ; Green, History of Eng- 
land, p. 819 ; Duruy, History of France, p. 585. 



244 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1802 

come^ and the Danish force^ whicli tliey thought impreg- 
nable^ totally taken or destroyed, by the consummate skill 
of our commanders^ and by the undaunted bravery of as 
gallant a band as ever defended the rights of this country. 
For myself, if I were only personally concerned, I should 
bear the stigma, attempted to be now first placed upon my 
brow, Avith humility. But, my lord, I am the natural 
guardian of the fame of all the officers of the navy, army, 
and marines, who fought, and so |)rofusely bled, under my 
command on that day. Again I disclaim for myself more 
merit than naturally falls to a successful commander; but 
when I am called upon to speak of the merits of the cap- 
tains of His Majesty's ships, and of the officers and men, 
whether seamen, marines, or soldiers, whom I that day had 
the happiness to command, I then say, that never was the 
glory of this country upheld with more determined brav- 
ery than on that occasion : — and, if I may be allowed to 
give an opinion as a Briton, then I say, that more impor- 
tant service was never rendered to our King and country. 
It is my duty, my lord, to prove to the brave fellows, my 
companions in danger, that I have not failed, at every 
proper place, to represent, as well as I am able, their brav- 
ery and meritorious conduct." 

Another honour, of greater import, was withheld from 
the conquerors. The King had given medals to those cap- 
tains who were engaged in the battles of the 1st of June,^ 
of Cape St. Vincent, of Oamjoerdown,^ and of the Mle. 
Then came the victory of Oo^Denhagen : which Nelson truly 
called the most difficult achievement, the hardest fought 
battle, the most glorious result that ever graced the annals 
of our country. He, of course, expected the medal: and, 
in writing to the Earl St. Vincent, said: "He longed to 
have it, and would not give it up to be made an English 
duke." The medal, however, was not given: — "For 
what reason," said Nelson, "Lord St. Vincent best 
knows." — Words plainly implying a susjiicion, that it was 
withheld by some feeling of jealousy: and that suspicion 

^ Loi'd Howe's defeat of the French off Ushant, June 1, 1794. 
See Mahan, Sea Power on Freiich Revolution, i., pp. 125-160. 

^ Admiral Duncan's defeat of the Dutch, October 11, 1797. See 
Gardiner, History of England, p. 837 ; Green, History of Engla7id, 
p. 810 ; Mahan, Sea Poiver on French Revolution, i., p. 378. 



1803] THE LIFE OF NELSON 245 

estranged liim, during the remaining part of his life^ from 
one who had been at one time essentially, as well as sin- 
cerely, his friend, and of whose professional abilities he 
ever entertained the highest opinion.^ 

The happiness which Nelson enjoyed in the society of his 
chosen friends, was of no long continuance. Sir William 
Hamilton, who was far advanced in years, died early in 
1803 ; a mild, amiable, accomplished man, who has thus in 
a letter described his own philosophy: — " My study of an- 
tiquities, ' ' he says, ' ' has kept me in constant thought of 
the perpetual fluctuation of every thing. The whole art is 
really to live all the clays of our life; and not with anxious 
care disturb the sweetest hour that life affords — which is 
the present. Admire the Creator, and all his works, to us 
incomprehensible; and do all the good you can upon 
earth; and take the chance of eternity without dismay." 
He expired in his wife's arms, holding kelson by the hand; 
and almost in his last words left her to his protection; re- 
questing him that he would see justice done her by the 
government, as he knew what she had done for her coun- 
try. ^ He left him her portrait in enamel, calling him his 
dearest friend; the most virtuous, loyal, and truly brave 
character he had ever known. The codicil containing this 
bequest concluded with these words: " God bless him, and 
shame fall on those who do not say Amen." Sir William's 
pension, of £1,200 a year, ceased with his death. Nelson 
applied to Mr. Addington in Lady Hamilton's behalf, stat- 
ing the important service which she had rendered to the 
fleet at Syracuse; and Mr. Addington, it is said, acknowl- 
edged that she had a just claim upon the gratitude of the 
country. This barren acknowledgment was all that was 
obtained : but a sum, equal to the pension which her hus- 
band had enjoyed, was settled on her by Nelson, and paid 
in monthly payments during his life. A few weeks after 
this event, the war was renewed; and, the day after His 
Majesty's message to Parliament, Nelson departed to take 

^ It has been suspected that the neglect here mentioned proceeded 
from the desire of George III., who was, like his father, "a snuffy 
old drone from the German hive, " to have his quarrel with his cousins 
the Danes as quickly as possible forgotten. It has also been ascribed 
to the king's disgust at Nelson's domestic affairs. 

^ For the curious relations of these three, consult Laughton, Nel- 
son, p. 179. 



246 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1803 

command of the Mediterranean fleet. ^ The war, he thought, 
could not be long; just enough to make him independent 
in pecuniary matters. 

He took his station immediately off Toulon; and there, with 
incessant yigilance, waited for the coming out of the enemy. ^ 
The expectation of acquiring a competent fortune did 
not last long. ''^Somehow," he says, " my mind is not 
sharp enough for prize-money. Lord Keith would have 
made £20,000, and I have not made £6,000." More than 
once he says that the prizes taken in the Mediterranean 
had not paid his expenses, and once he expresses himself as 
if it were a consolation to think that some ball might sooh 
close all his accounts with this world of care and vexation.- 
At this time the widow of his brother, being then blind 
and advanced in years, was distressed for money, and about 
to sell her plate ; he wrote to Lady Hamilton, requesting of 
her to find out what her debts were, and saying, that if the 
amount was within his power, he would certainly pay it, 
and rather pinch himself than that she should want. Be- 
fore he had finished the letter, an account arrived that a 
sum was payable to him for some neutral taken four years 
before, which enabled him to do this without being the 
poorer; and he seems to have felt at the moment that what 
was thus disposed of by a cheerful giver, shall be paid to 
him again. — One from whom he had looked for very differ- 
ent conduct, had compared his own wealth in no becom 
ing manner with Nelson's limited means. " I know, 
said he to Lady Hamilton, "the full extent of the obliga- 
tion I owe him, and he may be useful to me again; but I 
can never forget his unkindness to you. But I guess 
many reasons influenced his conduct in bragging of his 
riches and my honourable poverty ; but, as I have often 

^ War was declared May 18, 1803. Nelson was present at the 
debate in the House of Lords ; he did not address that body, but sent 
to Mr. Addington a note worded thus : "4 o'clock, March 9, 1803. 
Whenever it is necessary, I am your Admiral." See Gardiner, His- 
tory of England, p. 846 ; Green, History of England, p. 820. 

2 He was instructed to take such a position as he should consider 
most proper to enable him to take, sink, burn, or otherwise destroy 
any ships or vessels belonging to France or French traders ; to 
detain any Dutch ships he might meet with ; and to watch the move- 
ments of the Court of Spain, especially those pertaining to their 
navy. 



?5 



1803] THE LIFE OF NELSON 247 

said^ and with honest pride^ what I have is my own: it 
never cost the widow a tear^ or the nation a farthing. I 
got what I have with my pure blood, from the enemies of 
my country. Our house, my own Emma, is built upon a 
solid foundation; and will last to us, when his house and 
lands may belong to others than his children. ' ' 

His hope was that peace might soon be made, or that he 
should be relieved from his command, and retire to Merton, 
where, at that distance, he was planning and directing im- 
provements. On his birthday he writes: " This day, my 
dearest Emma, I consider as more fortunate than common 
days, as by my coming into the world it has brought me so 
intimately acquainted with you. I well know that you will 
keep it and have my dear Horatia to drink my health. 
Forty-six years of toil and trouble! How few more the 
common lot of mankind leads us to expect! and therefore 
it is almost time to think of spending the few last years in 
peace and quietness." It is painful to think that this 
language was not addressed to his wife, but to one with 
whom he promised himself ' ' many, many happy years, 
when that impediment," ^ as he calls her, " shall have been 
removed, if God pleased; " and they might be surrounded 
with their children's children. 

When he had been fourteen months thus employed, he 
received a vote of thanks from the city of London, for his 
skill and perseverance in blockading that port, so as to 
prevent the French from putting to sea. Nelson had not 
forgotten the wrong which the city had done to the Baltic 
fleet by their omission, and did not lose the opportunity, 
which this vote afforded, of recurring to that point. ^' I 
do assure your lordship," said he, in his answer to the Lord 
Mayor, ''that there is not that man breathing who sets a 
higher value upon the thanks of his fellow-citizens of Lon- 
don than myself; but I should feel as much ashamed to 
receive them for a particular service, marked in the resolu- 
tion, if I felt that I did not come within that line of ser- 
vice, as I should feel hurt at having a great victory passed 
over without notice. I beg to inform your lordship, that 
the port of Toulon has never been blockaded by me : quite 
the reverse. Every opportunity has been offered the enemy 
to put to sea; for it is there that we hope to realise the 

^ Lady Nelson died May 4, 1831. 



248 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1803 

hopes and expectations of our country." Nelson then re- 
marked^ that the junior flag officers of his fleet had been 
omitted in this vote of thanks; and his surprise at the 
omission was expressed with more asperity^ perhaps, than 
an offence, so entirely and manifestly unintentional, de- 
served : but it arose from that generous regard for the feel- 
ings as well as interests of all who were under his command, 
which made him as much beloved in the fleets of Britain as 
he was dreaded in those of the enemy. 

N^ever was any commander more beloved. He governed 
men by their reason and their affections; they knew that 
he was incapable of caprice or tyranny; and they obeyed 
him with alacrity and joy, because he possessed their confi- 
dence as well as their love. " Our Nel," they used to say, 
" is as brave as a lion, and as gentle as a lamb." Severe 
discipline he detested, though he had been bred in a severe 
school : he never inflicted corporal punishment, if it were 
possible to avoid it; and when compelled to enforce it, he, 
who was familiar with wounds and death, suffered like a 
woman. 1 In his whole life Nelson was never known to act 
unkindly tov/ards an officer. If he was asked to prosecute 
one for ill behaviour, he used to answer: " That there was 
no occasion for him to ruin a poor devil, who was suffi- 
ciently his own enemy to ruin himself." But in Nelson 
there was more than the easiness and humanity of a happy 
nature: he did not merely abstain from injury; his was 
an active and watchful benevolence, ever desirous not only 
to render justice, but to do good.) During the peace, he 
had spoken in Parliament upon thfe abuses respecting prize- 
money, and had submitted plans to Government for more 
easily manning the Navy, and preventing desertion from it, 
by bettering the condition of the seamen. He proposed that 
their certificates should be registered, and that every man 
who had served, with a good character, five years in war, 
should receive a bounty of two guineas annually after that 
time, and of four guineas after eight years. '''This," 
he said, "might, at first sight, aj)pear an enormous sum 
for the state to pay; but the average life of a seaman is, 

^ During the long blockade of Toulon, it was only by the wisest 
reguhition of diet and routine that the men were kept in good health 
and spirits. To such matters of detail Nelson devoted minute and 
unwearied effort. — See Laughton, Nelson, p. 184. 



1803] THE LIFE OF NELSON 249 

from hard service, finished at forty-five : he cannot, there- 
fore, enjoy the annuity many years; and the interest of 
the money saved by their not deserting, would go far to 
pay the whole expense." 

To his midshipmen he ever showed the most winning 
kindness, encouraging the diffident, tempering the hasty, 
counselling and befriending both. " Eecollect, " he used 
to say, ' ' that you must be a seaman to be an officer ; ^ and 
also, that you cannot be a good officer without being a gen- 
tleman. "^ A lieutenant wrote to him to say, that he was 
dissatisfied with his captain. Nelson's answer was in that 
spirit of perfect wisdom and perfect goodness, which regu- 
lated his whole cond act toward those who were under his 
command. ''I have just received your letter; and lam 
truly sorry that any difi'erence should arise between your 
captain, who has the reputation of being one of the bright 
officers of the service, and yourself, a very young man 
and a very young officer, who must naturally have much to 
learn: therefore the chance is that you are perfectly wrong 
in the disagreement. However, as your present situation 
must be very disagreeable, I will certainly take an early 
opportunity of removing you, provided your conduct to 
your present captain be such, that another may not re- 
fuse to receive you." The gentleness and benignity of his 
disposition never made him forget what was due to disci- 
pline. Being on one occasion applied to, to save a young 
officer from a court-martial, which he had provoked by his 

^ " Nelson was rather too apt to interfere in the working of the 
ship, and not always with the best success or judgment. Tlie wind, 
when off Dungeness, was scanty, and the ship must be put about, 
Lord Nelson would give the orders and caused lier to miss stays. 
[If -a ship, in tacking, halts or falls off, instead of coming around 
into the wind, she is said to miss stays.] Upon this he said rather 
peevishly to the Master or Officer of the Watch (I forget which) : 
' Well, now see what we have done. Well, sir, what mean you to do 
now ? ' The officer saying, with hesitation, ' I don't exactly know, 
my Lord, I fear she won't do,' Lord Nelson turned sharply toward 
the cabin, and replied : ' Well, I am sure if you do not know what 
to do with her, no more do I either.' He weiit in, leaving the officer 
to work the ship as he liked." — Stewart's Narrative of the Baltic 
Expedition, quoted by Russell, Life of Nelson, p. 172. 

^ ' ' There were gentlemen and there were seamen in the navy of 
Charles II. But the gentlemen were not seamen and the seamen 
were not gentlemen." — Macaulay, History of England, vol. i., p. 



250 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1803 

misconduct, his reply was, " That he would do everything 
in his power to oblige so gallant and good an officer as Sir 
John Warren," in whose name the intercession had been 
made: — " But what," he added, " would he do if he were 
here ? — Exactly what I have done, and am still willing to 
do. The young man must write such a letter of contri- 
tion as would be an acknowledgment of his great fault; 
and with a sincere promise, if his captain will intercede to 
prevent the im^DencIing court-martial, never to so misbehave 
again. On his captain's enclosing me such a letter, with a 
request to cancel the order for the trial, I might be induced 
to do it: but the letters and reprimand will be given in the 
public order-book of the fleet, and read to all the officers. 
The young man has pushed himself forward to notice, and 
he must take the consequence. — It was upon the quarter- 
deck, in the face of the ship's company, that he treated 
his captain with contempt; and I am in duty bound to 
support the authority and consequence of every officer 
under my command. A poor ignorant seaman is for ever 
punished for contempt to his superiors." 

A dispute occurred in the fleet, while it was off Toulon, 
which called forth N"elson's zeal for the rights and inter- 
ests of the navy. Some young artillery officers, serving on 
Ijoard the bomb-vessels, refused to let their men perform 
any other duty but what related to the mortars. They 
wished to have it established, that their cor^DS was not sub- 
ject to the captain's authority. The same pretensions were 
made in the Channel fleet about the same time; and the 
artillery rested their claims to separate and independent 
authority on board, upon a clause in the Act, which they 
interpreted in their favour. ISTelson took up the subject 
with all the earnestness which its importance deserved. — 
" There is no real happiness in this world," said he, writ- 
ing to Earl St. Vincent, as First Lord. " With all content 
and smiles around me, up start these artillery boys (I un- 
derstand they are not beyond that age), and set us at defi- 
ance; speaking in the most disrespectful manner of the 
navy and its commanders. I know you, my dear lord, so 
well, that, with your quickness, the matter would have 
been settled, and perhaps some of them been broke. I 
am, perhaps, more patient; but, I do assure you, not less 
resolved, if my plan of conciliation is not attended to. 



1803] THE LIFE OF NELSON 251 

You and I are on the eve of quitting the theatre of our 
exploits ; but we hold it due to our successors never, whilst 
we have a tongue to speak, or a hand to write, to allow the 
Navy to be, in the smallest degree, injured in its disci23line 
by our conduct." To Troubridge he wrote in the same 
spirit: — " It is the old history, trying to do away the Act 
of Parliament: but I trust they will never succeed; for, 
when they do, farewell to our naval superiority. We should 
be prettily commanded ! Let them once gain the step of 
being independent of the l^avy on board a ship, and they 
will soon have the other, and command us. — But, thank 
God! my dear Troubridge, the King himself cannot do 
away the Act of Parliament. Although my career is nearly 
run, yet it would embitter my future days and expiring 
moments to hear of our Navy being sacrificed to the Army." 
As thesurest way of preventing such disputes, he suggested 
that the Navy should have its own corps of artillery ; and a 
corps of Marine Artillery was accordingly established. 

Instead of lessening the poAver of the Commander, Nel- 
son would have wished to see it increased : it was absolutely 
necessary, he thought, that merit should be rewarded at 
the moment, and that the officers of the fleet should look 
up to the Commander-in-Chief for their reward. He himself 
was never more happy than when he could promote those 
who were deserving of promotion. Many were the ser- 
vices which he thus rendered unsolicited; and frequently 
the officer, in whose behalf he had interested himself with 
the Admiralty, did not know to whose friendly interference 
he was indebted for his good fortune. He used to say, '' I 
wish it to appear as a Grod-send. " The love which he bore 
the Navy made him promote the interests and honour the 
memory of all who had added to its glories. " The near 
relations of brother-officers," he said, ''he considered as 
legacies to the service." Upon mention being made to- 
him of a son of Rodney,^ by the Duke of Clarence, his 
reply was: "I agree with your Eoyal Highness most en- I 
tirely, that the son of Eodney ought to be the iwoUge of 
every person in the kingdom, and particularly of the sea 
officers. Had I known that there had been this claimant, 
some of my own lieutenants must have given way to such a 
name^ and he should have been placed in the Victory : she 

' See p. 31, note 2. 



252 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1803 

is full;, and I have twenty on my list; but, whatever num- 
bers I have, the name of Rodney must cut many of them 
out." Such was the proper sense which Nelson felt of 
what was due to splendid services and illustrious names. 
His feelings toward the brave men who had served with 
him are shown by a note in his diary, which was probably 
not intended for any other eye than his own. — "Nov. 7. 
I had the comfort of making an old Agamemnoji, George 
Jones, a gunner into the CJiameleon brig." 

When Nelson took the command, it was expected that 
the Mediterranean would be an active scene. Nelson well 
understood the character of the perfidious Oorsican, who 
was now sole tyrant of France; and knowing that he was 
as ready to attack his friends as his enemies, knew, there- 
fore, that nothing could be more uncertain than the direc- 
tion of the fleet from Toulon, whenever it should put to 
sea: — "It had as many destinations," he said, "as there 
were countries." The momentous revolutions of the 
last ten years had given him ample matter for reflection, 
as well as opportunities for observation: the film was 
cleared from his eyes; and now, when the French no 
longer went abroad with the cry of liberty and equality, he 
saw that the oppression and misrule of the powers which 
had been opposed to them had been the main causes of their 
success, and that those causes would still prepare the way 
before them. Even in Sicil^^, where, if it had been possi- 
ble longer to blind himself. Nelson would willingly have 
seen no evil, he perceived that the people wished for a 
change, and acknowledged that they had reason to wish for 
it. In Sardinia, the same burden of misgovernment was 
felt; and the people, like the Sicilians, were imjooverished 
by a government so utterly incom]3etent to perform its first 
and most essential duties, that it did not protect its own 
coasts from the Barbary pirates. He would fain have had us 
purchase this island (the finest in the Mediterranean) from 
its sovereign, who did not receive £5,000 a year from it, 
after its wretched establishment Avas paid. There was reason 
to think that France was preparing to possess herself of 
this important j)oint, which afl^orded our fleet facilities for 
watching Toulon not to be obtained elsewhere. An expe- 
dition was preparing at Corsica for the purpose; and all 
the Sardes, who had taken |)art with revolutionary France, 



1803] THE LIFE OF NELSON 253 

were ordered to assemble there. It was certain tliat if the 
attack were made, it would succeed. Nelson thought that 
the only means to prevent Sardinia from becoming French 
was to make it English, and that half a million would give 
the King a rich price, and England a cheap purchase. A 
better, and therefore a wiser, policy Avould have been to 
exert our influence in removing the abuses of the govern- 
ment; for foreign dominion is always, in some degree, an 
evil; and allegiance neither can nor ought to be made a 
thing of bargain and sale. Sardinia, like Sicily and Cor- 
sica, is large enough to form a separate state. Let us hope 
that these islands may, ere long, be made free and inde- 
pendent. Freedom and independence will bring with 
them industry and prosperity; and wherever these are 
found, arts and letters will flourish, and the improvement 
of the human race proceed. 

The proposed attack was postponed. Views of wider 
ambition were opening before Buonaparte, who now almost 
undisguisedly aspired to make himself master of the con- 
tinent of Europe; and Austria was preparing for another 
struggle, to be conducted as weakly, and terminated as 
miserably, as the former. , Spain, too, was once more to be 
involved in war by the policy of France; that perfidious 
government having in view the double object of employing 
the Spanish resources against England, and exhausting 
them, in order to render Spain herself finally its prey^x 
Nelson, who knew that England and the Peninsula ought 
to be in alliance, for the common interest of both, fre- 
quently expressed his hopes that Spain might resume her 
natural rank among the nations. ''We ought," he said, 
" by mutual consent, to be the very best friends, and both 
to be ever hostile to France. " But he saw that Buonaparte 
was meditating the destruction of Spain; and that, while the 
Avretched court of Madrid professed to remain neutral, the 
api^earances of neutrality were scarcely preserved. An 
order of the year 1771, excluding British ships of war from 
the Spanish ports, was revived, and put in force; while 
French privateers, from these very ports, annoyed the 
British trade, carried their prizes in, and sold them even at 
Barcelona. Nelson complained of this to the Captain 
General of Catalonia, informing him that he claimed, for 
every British ship or squadron, the right of lying, as long 



254 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1803 

as it pleased^ in tlie ports of Spain, while that right was 
allowed to other powers. To the British Ambassador he 
said: "I am ready to make large allowances for the mis- 
erable situation Spain has placed herself in; but there is 
a certain line beyond which I cannot submit to be treated 
with disrespect. We have given up French vessels taken 
within gun-shot of the Spanish shore, and yet French ves- 
sels are permitted to attack our ships from the Spanish 
shore. Your Excellency may assure the Spanish govern- 
ment, that in whatever place the Spaniards allow the 
French to attack us, in that j)lace I shall order the French 
to be attacked." 

During this state of things, to which the weakness of 
Spain, and not her will, consented, the enemy's fleet did 
not venture to ]out to sea. Nelson watched it with unre- 
mitting and almost unexampled perseverance. The station 
off Toulon he called his home. 'tWe are in the right 
fighting trim," said he: " let them come as soon as they 
please. I never saw a fleet altogether so well officered and 
manned : would to Clod the ships were half so good ! — The 
finest ones in the service would soon be destroyed, by such 
terrible weather. I know well enough, that if I were to 
go into Malta I should save the ships during this bad sea- 
son; but if I am to watch the French, I must be at sea; 
and if at sea, must have bad weather: and if the ships 
are not fit to stand bad weather, they are useless." Then 
only he was satisfied, and at ease, when he had the enemy 
in view. Mr. Elliot, our Minister at Naples, seems, at this 
time, to have proposed to send a confidential Frenchman 
to him with information, '' I should be very happy," he 
replied, "to receive authentic intelligence of the destina- 
tion of the French squadron, their route, and time of sail- 
ing. — Anything short of this is useless; and I assure your 
Excellency, that I would not, upon any consideration, 
have a Frenchman in the fleet, except as a prisoner. I jout 
no confidence in them. You think yours good; the 
Queen thinks the same : I believe they are all alike. What- 
ever information you can get me, I shall be very thankful 
for; but not a Frenchman comes here. Forgive me, but 
my mother hated the French! " ^ 

' Nelson's secretary, Dr. Scott, preserved several interesting facts 
about his habits during the blockade of Toulon. It was a point of 



1803] THE LIFE OF NELSON 255 

M. Latoiiche Treville^ who liad commanclecl at Boulogne, 
commanded now at Tonlon. " He was sent for on pur- 
pose/' said JSTelson, "as he deat me at Boulogne^ to beat 
me again: but he seems very loth to try." One day, while 
the main body of our fleet was out of sight of land, Rear- 
Admiral Campbell, reconnoitring with the Canopus, Don- 
egal, and Amazo7i, stood in close to the port, and M. 
Latouche, taking advantage of a breeeze which sprung up, 
pushed out, with four ships of the line, and three heavy 
frigates, and chased him about four leagues. The French- 
man, delighted at having found himself in so novel a situ- 
ation, published a boastful account; affirming that he had 
given chase to the Avhole British fleet, and that Nelson had 
fled before him. ISTelson thought it due to the Admiralty 
to send home a copy of the Victory'' s log upon this occa- 
sion. "As for himself," he said, "if his character was 
not established by that time for not being apt to run away, 
it was not worth his while to put the world right." — " If 
this fleet gets fairly up with M. Latouche," said he to one 
of his correspondents, " his letter, with all his ingenuity, 
must be different from his last. We had fancied that we 
had chased him into Toulon; for, blind as I am, I could 
see his water-line, when he clewed ^ his topsails up, shut- 
ting in Sepet.^ But, from the time of his meeting Captain 
Hawker in the Isis, I never heard of his acting otherwise 
than as a poltroon and a liar.^ Contempt is the best mode 

etiquette with him to send all of his communications to foreign 
courts in English, accompanied by a translation. He was unwearied 
in reading all that came to hand ; even private letters found in cap- 
/^tured ships Avere regularly perused ; like Dr. Johnson he tore the 
[•: heart out of a book in an incredibly short time ; and two hours of 
sleep afforded him as much refreshment as a night of rest would give 
most men. Sir Pultney Malcolm, who knew Napoleon, Wellington, 
and Nelson familiarly, used to say that "Nelson was the man to 
love." On one occasion he promoted a midshipman for gallantly 
jumping overboard and rescuing a drowning servant. The announce- 
ment was greeted with cheers by the young man's companions. 
Thereupon Nelson looked over the rail at them, and said with a sig- 
nificant smile : '(Mind ! I'll have no more making lieutenants for 
servants falling overboard ! " 

^ To draw up. ' 

^ A height near Toulon. 

^ The affair here referred to was a combat of frigates off New York 
in June, 1780. Both sides claimed the victory. Which of the com- 
batants was probably in the right ? 



256 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1804 

of treating sucli a miscreant." In spite^ however^ of con- 
tempt^ the impudence of this Frenchman half angered him. 
He said to his brother: "Yon will have seen Latouche's 
letter; how he chased me^ and how I ran. I keep it; and 
if I take him^ by God he shall eat it ! " 

Nelson, who used to say, that in sea affairs nothing is im- 
possible, and nothing improbable, feared the more that this 
Frenchman might get out and elude his vigilance; because 
he was so especially desirous of catching him, and adminis- 
tering to him his own lying letter in a sandwich. M. La- 
touche, however, escaped him in another way. He died, 
according to the French papers, in consequence of walking 
so often up to the signal post upon Sepet, to watch the 
British fleet. " I always pronounced that would be his 
death," said Nelson. " If he had come out and fought me, 
it would, at least, have added ten years to my life." The 
patience with which he had watched Toulon he spoke of, 
truly, as a perseverance at sea which had never been sur- 
passed. From May, 1803, to August, 1805, he himself went 
out of his ship but three times; each of those times was upon 
the King's service, and neither time of absence exceeded 
an hour.' In 1804, the Swift cutter going out with de- 
spatches was taken, and all the despatches and letters fell 
into the hands of the enemy. " A very pretty piece of 
work," says Nelson. " I am not surprised at the capture, 
but am very much so that any despatches should be sent 
in a vessel with twenty-three men, not equal to cope with 
any row-boat privateer. The loss of the Hindostan was 
great enough; but for importance it is lost in comparison 
with the probable knowledge the enemy will obtain of our 
connections with foreign countries. Foreigners forever say, 
and it is true, ' We dare not trust England : one way or 
other we are sure to be committed.' " In a subsequent 
letter, speaking of the same capture, he says: " I find, my 
dearest Emma, that your picture is very much admired by 
the French Consul at Barcelona; and that he has not sent; 
it to be admired, which I am sure it would be, by Buonaparte. 1 
They pretend that there were three pictures taken. I wish ' 
I had them; but they are all gone as irretrievably as the | 
despatches, unless we may read them in a book, as we 1 
printed their correspondence from Egypt. But from us 
what can they find out ? That I love you most dearly. 



1804", THE LIFE OF NELSON 251' 

and hate the French most damnably. Dr. Scott went to 
Barcelona to try to get the private letters^ but I fancy they 
are all gone to Paris. The Swedish and American Consuls 
told him that the French Consul had your picture and 
read your letters; and the doctor thinks one of them, 
probably, read the letters. By the master's account of 
the cutter I would not have trusted a pair of old shoes in 
her. He tells me she did not sail, but was a good sea boat. 
I hope Mr. Marsden will not trust any more of my private 
letters in such a conveyance: if they choose to trust the 
affairs of the public in such a thing, I cannot help it." 

While he was on this station, the weather had been so 
unusually severe, that, he said, the Mediterranean seemed 
altered. It was his rule never to contend with the gales; 
but either run to the southward, to escape their violence, 
or furl all the sails, and make the ships as easy as pos- 
sible. The men, though he said flesh and blood could 
hardly stand it, continued in excellent health, which he 
ascribed, in great measure, to a plentiful supply of lemons 
and onions. For himself, he thought he could only last 
till the battle was over. One battle more it was his hope 
that he might fight. "However," said he, ''whatever 
happens I have run a glorious race." "A few months' 
rest," he says, "I must have very soon. If I am in my 
grave, what are the mines of Peru to me ? But to say the 
truth, I have no idea of killing myself. I may, with care, 
live yet to do good service to the State. My cough is very 
bad, and my side, where I was struck on the 14th of Feb- 
ruary, is very much swelled ; at times a lump as large as my 
fist, brought on occasionally by violent coughing. But I 
hope and believe my lungs are yet safe." He was afraid of 
blindness : and this was the only evil which he could not 
contemplate without unhappiness. More alarming symp- 
toms he regarded with less apprehension; describing his 
own " shattered carcass " as in the worst plight of any in 
the fleet: and he says, "I have felt the blood , gushing up 
the left side of my head : and, the moment it covers the 
brain, I am fast asleep." The fleet was in worse trim than 
the men: but when he compared it with the enemy's, it 
was with a right English feeling. " The French fleet, yes- 
terday," said he, in one of his letters, " was to appearance 
in high feather, and as fine as paint could make them : — but 
17 



258 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1804 

when they may sail^ or where they may go, I am very sorry 
to say is a secret I am not acquainted with. Our weather- 
beaten ships, I have no fear, will make their sides like a 
plum pudding." " Yesterday," he says, on another occa- 
sion, "a rear-admiral and seven sail of ships put their 
nose outside the harbour. If they go on playing this game, 
some day we shall lay salt upon their tails." 

Hostilities at length commenced between Great Britain 
and Spain. That country, whose miserable government 
made her subservient to France, was once more destined to 
lavish her resources and her blood in furtherance of the 
designs of a perfidious ally. The immediate occasion of 
the war was the seizure of four treasure ships by the Eng- 
lish, — The act was perfectly justifiable; for those treasures 
were intended to furnish means for France; but the cir- 
cumstances which attended it were as unhappy as they were 
unforeseen. Four frigates had been despatched to intercept 
them. They met with an equal force. Eesistance, there- 
fore, became a point of honour on the part of the Span- 
iards, and one of their ships soon blew up with all on 
board. Had a stronger squadron been sent, this deplor- 
able catastrophe might have been spared: a catastrophe 
which excited not more indignation in Spain, than it did 
grief in those who were its unwilling instruments, in the 
English government and in the English people. On the 5th 
of October this unhappy affair occurred, and Nelson was 
not apprised of it till the 12th of the ensuing month. He 
had, indeed, sufficient mortification at the breaking out of 
this Spanish war; an event which, it might reasonably have 
been sujoposed, would amply enrich the officers of the Med- 
iterranean fleet, and repay them for the severe and unre- 
mitting duty on which they had been so long employed. 
But of this harvest they were deprived ; for Sir John Orde 
was sent with a small squadron, and a separate command, 
to Cadiz, l^elson's feelings were never wounded so deeply 
as now. "I had thought," said he, writing in the first 
flow and freshness of indignation; "I fancied — but, nay; 
it must have been a dream, an idle dream; — yet, I confess 
it, I did fancy that I had done my country service; and 
thus they use me! And under what circumstances, and 
with what pointed aggravation ! Yet, if I know my own 
thoughts, it is not for myself, or on my own account chiefly. 



1805] THE LIFE OF NELSON 259 

that I feel the sting and disappointment. ISTo ! it is for my 
brave officers; for my noble-minded friends and comrades. 
Such a gallant set of fellows! Such a band of brothers! 
My heart swells at the thought of them! " 

War between Spain and England was now declared ; and, 
on the 18th of January, the Toulon fleet, having the Span- 
iards to co-operate with them, put to sea. Nelson was at 
anchor off the coast of Sardinia, where the Maddalena 
islands form one of the finest harbours in the world, when, 
at three in the afternoon of the 19th, the Active and Sea- 
liorse frigates brought this long hoped for intelligence. 
They had been close to the enemy at ten on the preceding 
night, but lost sight of them in about four hours. The 
fleet immediately unmoored and weighed, and at six in the 
evening ran through the strait between Liscia and Sar- 
dinia; a passage so narrow, that the ships could only pass 
one at a time, each following the stern lights of its leader. 
From the position of the enemy, when they were last seen, 
it was inferred that they must be bound round the southern 
end of Sardinia. Signal was made the next morning to 
prepare for battle. Bad weather came on, baffling the one 
fleet in its object, and the other in its pursuit. Nelson 
beat about the Sicilian seas for ten days, without obtaining 
any other information of the enemy, than that one of their 
ships had put into Ajaccio dismasted ; and having seen that 
Sardinia, Naples, and Sicily were safe, believing Egypt to 
be their destination, for Egypt he ran. The disappoint- 
ment and distress which he had experienced in his former 
pursuits of the French through the same seas were now 
renewed; but Nelson, while he endured these anxious and 
unhappy feelings, was still consoled by the same confi- 
dence as on the former occasion — that, though his judg- 
ment might be erroneous, under all circumstances he was 
right in having formed it. ^'I have consulted no man," 
said he to the Admiralty: "therefore the whole blame of 
ignorance in forming my judgment must rest with me. I 
would allow no man to take from me an atom of my glory, 
had I fallen in with the French fieet; nor do I desire any 
man to partake any of the responsibility. All is mine, 
right or wrong." Then stating the grounds upon which 
he had proceeded, he added: "At this moment of sorrow, 
I still feel that I have acted right." In the same spirit he 



260 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

said to Sir Alexander Ball: " When I call to remembrance 
all the circumstances^ I approve^, if nobody else does^ of 
my own conduct." 

Baffled thus, he bore up for Malta, and met intelligence 
from Naples that the French, having been dispersed in a 
gale, had put back to Toulon. From the same quarter he 
learned that a great number of saddles and muskets had 
been embarked : and this confirmed him in his opinion that 
Egypt was their destination. That they should have put 
back in consequence of storms which he had weathered, 
gave him a consoling sense of British superiority. " These 
gentlemen," said he, "are not accustomed to a Gulf of 
Lyons gale; we have buffeted them for one-and-twenty 
months, and not carried away a spar." He, however, Avho 
had so often braved these gales, was now, though not mas- 
tered by them, vexatiously thwarted and impeded ; and, on 
February 27th, he was compelled to anchor in Pulla Bay, in 
the Gulf of Cagliari. From the 21st of January, the fl.eet 
had remained ready for battle, without a bulkhead ^ up^ 
night or day. He anchored here that he might not be 
driven to leeward. As soon as the weather moderated he 
put to sea again; and, after again beating about against con- 
trary winds, another gale drove him to anchor in the Gulf 
of Palma, on the 8th of March. This he made his rendez- 
vous; he knew that the French troops still remained em- 
barked, and, wishing to lead them into a belief that he was 
stationed upon the Spanish coast, he made his appearance 
off Barcelona with that intent. About the end of the 
month, he began to fear that the plan of the expedition 
was abandoned; and, sailing once more towards his old 
station off Toulon, on the 4th of April, he met the Phmhe, 
with news that Villeneuve had put to sea on the last of 
March with eleven shijDS of the line, seven frigates, and 
two brigs. When last seen, they were steering toward the 
coast of Africa. Nelson first covered the channel between 
Sardinia and Barbary, so as to satisfy himself that Ville- 
neuve was not taking the same route for Egypt which 
Gantheaume had taken before him, when he attempted to 
carry reinforcements there. Certain of this, he bore up 
on the 7th for Palermo, lest the French should pass to the 
north of Corsica, and he despatched cruisers in all direc- 

^ A partition in a vessel to separate the deck into desired rooms. 



1805] THE LIFE OF NELSON 261 

tions. On the 11th, he felt assured that they were not 
gone down the Mediterranean; and sending off frigates to 
Gibraltar, to Lisbon, and to Admiral Cornwallis, who com- 
manded the squadron off Brest, he endeavoured to get to 
the westward, beating against westerly winds. After five 
days, a neutral gave intelligence that the French had been 
seen off Cape de Gatte on the 7th. It was soon after as- 
certained that they had passed the Straits of Gibraltar on 
the day following; and Nelson, knowing that they might 
already be half way to Ireland, or to Jamaica, exclaimed, 
that he was miserable. One gleam of comfort only came 
across him in the reflection, that his vigilance had rendered 
it impossible for them to undertake any expedition in the 
Mediterranean. 

Eight days after this certain intelligence had been ob- 
tained, he described his state of mind thus forcibly, in 
writing to the Governor of Malta: ^' My good fortune, my 
dear Ball, seems flown away. I cannot get a fair wind, or 
even a side wind. Dead foul ! Dead foul ! But my mind 
is fully made up what to do when I leave the Straits, sup- 
posing there is no certain account of the enemy's destina- 
tion. I believe this ill-luck will go near to kill me; but, 
as these are times for exertion, I must not be cast down, 
whatever I may feel." In spite of every exertion which 
could be made by all the zeal and all the skill of British 
seamen, he did not get in sight of Gibraltar till the 30th 
of April; and the wind was then so adverse, that it was 
impossible to pass the Gut. He anchored in Mazari Bay, 
on the Barbary shore; obtained supplies from Tetuan; and 
when, on the 5 th, a breeze from the eastward sprang up 
at last, sailed once more, hoping to hear of the enemy 
from Sir John Orde, who commanded off Cadiz, or from 
Lisbon. "If nothing is heard of them," said he to the 
Admiralty, " I shall probably think the rumours which have 
been spread are true, that their object is the West Indies; 
and, in that case, I think it my duty to follow them, — or to 
the Antipodes, should I believe that to be their destination. " 
At the time when this resolution was taken, the physician 
of the fleet had ordered him to return to England before 
the hot months. 

Nelson had formed his judgment of their destination, 
and made up his mind accordingly, when Donald Camp- 



262 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

bell, at that time an admiral in the Portuguese service, the 
same person who had given important tidings to Earl St. 
Vincent of the movements of that fleet from which he 
won his title, a second time gave timely and momentous 
intelligence to the flag of his country. He went on board 
the Victory, and communicated to Nelson his certain 
knowledge that the combined Spanish and French fleets 
were bound for the West Indies. Hitherto all things had 
favoured the enemy. While the British Commander was 
beating up against strong southerly and westerly gales, they 
had wind to their wish from the IST.E., and had done in 
nine days what he was a whole month in accomplishing. 
Villeneuve, finding the Spaniards at Carthagena were not 
in a state of equipment to join him, dared not wait, but 
hastened on to Cadiz. Sir John Orde necessarily retired 
at his approach.^ Admiral Gravina, with six Spanish 
ships of the line, and two French, came out to him, and 
they sailed without a moment's loss of time. They had 
about three thousand French trooj)s on board, and fifteen 
hundred Spanish: six hundred were under orders, expect- 
ing them at Martinique, and one thousand at Gruadaloupe. 
General Lauriston commanded the troops. The com- 
bined fleet now consisted of eighteen sail of the line, six 
forty-four gun frigates, one of twenty-six guns, three cor- 
vettes and a brig. They were joined afterwards by two 
new French line of battle ships, and one forty-four. ISTel- 
son pursued them with ten sail of the line and three frig- 
ates. "J^ake you a Frenchman a-piece," said he to his 
Captains, " and leave me the Spaniards, — when I haul down 
my colours, I expect you to do the same, — and not till 
then. ' ' ^ 

^ He had only five sail of the line. 

^ It seems evident that the manoeuvres of Villenenve's fleet were 
only part of a grand design of Napoleon's for accomplishing his long 
contemplated invasion of England. The French fleets, it appears, 
were to break out of Brest, Rochefort, and Toulon at nearly the 
same time ; rendezvous at Martinique ; return ; drive the English 
from the Channel ; and thus make it possible for the French army 
to cross. Of the three squadrons only one, that of Missiessy, got to 
sea in time ; Villeneuve as we have seen was delayed by bad weather 
for more than two months ; and the Brest squadron never got to sea 
at all. Missiessy waited at Martinique forty-five days as ordered, 
and then, Villeneuve not having yet appeared, returned to Prance. 
See Laughton, Nelson, p. 198. 



1805] THE LIFE OF NELSON 263 

The enemy had five-and- thirty days' start; but he cal- 
culated that he should gain eight or ten days upon them 
by his exertions. May 15th he made Madeira^ and on June 
4ith reached Barbados^ whither he had sent despatches 
before him ; and where he found Admiral Cochrane^ 
with two ships, part of our squadron in those seas being at 
Jamaica. He found here also accounts that the combined 
fleets had been seen from St. Lucia on the 28th, standing 
to the southward, and that Tobago and Trinidad were their 
objects.^ This Nelson doubted; but he was alone in his 
opinion, and yielded it with these foreboding words — "If 
your intelligence proves false, you lose me the French 
fleet." Sir William Myers offered to embark here with 
two thousand troops: — they were taken on board, and the 
next morning he sailed for Tobago. Here accident con- 
firmed the false intelligence which had, whether from 
intention or error, misled him. A merchant at Tobago, 
in the general alarm, not knowing whether this fleet was 
friend or foe, sent out a schooner to reconnoitre, and ac- 
quaint him by signal. The signal which he had chosen 
happened to be the very one which had been appointed by 
Colonel Shipley of the engineers to signify that the enemy 
were at Trinidad; and as this was at the close of day, there 
was no opportunity of discovering the mistake. An Ameri- 
can brig was met with about the same time; the master of^ 
which, with that propensity to deceive the English and 
assist the French in any manner, which has been but too 
common among his countrymen, affirmed, that he had been 
boarded off Granada a few days before by the French, , 
who were standing towards the Bocas of Trinidad.^ This 
fresh intelligence removed all doubts. The ships were 
cleared for action before daylight, and Nelson entered the 
Bay of Paria on the 7th, hoping and expecting to make 
the mouths of the Orinoco as famous in the annals of the 
British Navy as those of the Mle. Not an enemy was there ; 
and it was discovered that accident and artifice had com- 
bined to lead him so far to leeward, that there could 
have been little hope of fetching to windward of G-ranada 

^ The run out was 3,459 miles ; the run back 3,227 ; the average 
per day 85. What does an Atlantic liner average now ? 

^ Boca is Spanish for "mouth." Boca del Drago, or Dragon's 
Mouth, is the full name. 



264 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

for any other fleet. Nelson, however, with skill and exer- 
tions never exceeded, and almost unexampled, bore for that 
island. 

Advices met him on the way, that the combined fleets, 
having captured the Diamond Kock, were then at Martin- 
ique, on the 4th, and were exjoected to sail that night for 
the attack of Granada. On the 9th, i^^elson arrived ofE 
that island, and there learned that they had passed to lee- 
ward of Antigua the preceding day, and taken a homeward- 
bound convoy. Had it not been for false information, 
upon which Nelson had acted reluctantly, and in opposi- 
tion to his own judgment, he would have been off Port 
Eoyal just as they were leaving it, and the battle would 
have been fought on the spot where Eodney defeated De 
Grasse.^ This he remembered in his vexation; but he had 
saved the colonies and above two hundred ships laden for 
Europe, which would else have fallen into the enemy's 
hands; and he had the satisfaction of knowing that the mere 
terror of his name had effected this, and had put to flight 
the allied enemies, whose force nearly doubled that before 
which they fled. That they were flying back to Europe he 
believed, and for Europe he steered in pursuit on the 13th, 
having disembarked the troops at Antigua, and taking 
with him the Spartiate^ 74: the only addition to the 
squadron with which he was pursuing so superior a force. 
Five days afterwards the Amazon brought intelligence, that 
she had spoke a schooner who had seen them, on the 
evening of the 15th, steering to the north ; and, by compu- 
tation, eighty-seven leagues oif . Nelson's diary at this time 
denotes his great anxiety, and his perpetual and all-observ- 
ing vigilance. "June 21, Midnight. — Nearly calm; saw 
three planks which I think came from the French fleet. 
Very miserable, which is very foolish." On the 17th of 
July, he came in sight of Cape St. Vincent, and steered 
for Gibraltar. "June 18th," his diary says, " Cape Spar- 
tel in sight, but no French fleet, nor any information about 
them. How sorrowful this makes me! but I cannot help 
myself." The next day he anchored at Gibraltar, and on 
the 20th, says he, " I went on shore for the first time since 
June 16th, 1803; and from having my foot out of the 
Victory, two years, wanting ten days." \ 

^ See p. 31, note 2. 



1805] THE LIFE OF NELSON 265 

Here he communicated with his old friend Colling wood, 
who, having been detached with a squadron, when the dis- 
appearance of the combined fleets, and of JSTelson in their 
pursuit, was known in England, had taken his station off 
Cadiz. He thought that Ireland w:as the enemy's ulti- 
mate object; that they would now liberate the Ferrol 
squadron, which was blocked up by Sir Eobert Calder, 
call for the Rochefort ships, and then appear off Ushant 
with three or four and thirty sail; there to be joined by 
the Brest fleet. With this great force he supposed they 
would make for Ireland, — the real mark and bent of all 
their operations; and their flight to the West Indies, he 
thought,, had been merely undertaken to take off Nelson's 
force, which was the great impediment to their under- 
taking. 

' CoUingwood was gifted with great political penetration. 
As yet, however, all was conjecture concerning the enemy; 
and Nelson, having victualled and watered at Tetuan, stood 
for Ceuta on the 24:th, still without information of their 
course. Next day intelligence arrived that the Ciirieux brig 
had seen them on the 19th,^ standing to the northward. 
He proceeded off Cape St. Vincent, rather cruising for 
intelligence, than knowing whither to betake himself; and 
here a case occurred that, more than any other event in 
real history, resembles those whimsical proofs of sagacity 
which Voltaire, in his "Zadig," has borrowed from the 
Orientals.^ One of our frigates spoke an American who, a 
little to the westward of the Azores, had fallen in with an 
armed vessel, appearing to be a dismasted privateer, deserted 
by her crew, which had been run on board by another ship, 
and had been set fire to; but the fire had gone out. A 
log-book, and a few seamen's jackets, were found in the 
cabin; and these were brought to Nelson. The log-book 
closed with these words : ' ' Two large vessels in the 
W.N.W. ; " and this led him to conclude that this vessel 
had been an English privateer, cruising off the Western 
Islands. But there was in this book a scrap of dirty paper, 
filled with figures. Nelson, immediately upon seeing it, 
observed that the figures were written by a Frenchman : 

^ June 19, not July 19. 

^ If you were writing this sentence now, would you refer to Vol- 
taire's Zadig, or to Dr. Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes 9 Why ? 



266 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

and, after studying this for a wliile, said: ^'I can explain 
the whole. The jackets are of French manufacture, and 
prove that the privateer was in possession of the enemy. 
She had been chased and taken by the two ships that were 
seen in the W.N.W. The prize-master, going on board in 
a hurry, forgot to take with him his reckoning; there is 
none in the log-book; and the dirty paper contains her 
work for the number of days since the privateer last left 
Corvo : with an unaccounted-for run, which I take to have 
been the chase, in his endeavour to find out her situation 
by back-reckonings. By some mismanagement, I con- 
clude, she was run on board of by one of the enemy's ships, 
and dismasted. Not liking delay (for I am satisfied that 
those two ships were the advanced ones of the French 
squadron), and fancying we were close at their heels, they 
set fire to the vessel, and abandoned her in a hurry. If 
this explanation be correct, I infer from it, that they are 
gone more to the northward, and more to the northward I 
will look for them." This course accordingly he held, 
but still without success. Still persevering, and still dis- 
appointed, he returned near enough to Cadiz to ascertain 
that they were not there; traversed the Bay of Biscay; and 
then, as a last hope, stood over for the north-west coast of 
Ireland, against adverse winds; till, on the evening of the 
12th of August, he learned that they had not been heard 
of there. Frustrated thus in all his hopes, after a pursuit 
to which, for its extent, rapidity, and perseverance, no 
parallel can be produced, he judged it best to reinforce the 
Channel fieet with his squadron, lest the enemy, as Colling- 
wood apprehended, should bear down upon Brest with 
their whole collected force. On the 15th, he joined Ad- 
miral Cornwallis off Ushant. I^o news had yet been 
obtained of the enemy; and, on the same evening, he 
received orders to proceed, with the Victory and Suj)er'b, 
to Portsmouth. 



OHAPTEE IX. 

Sir Robert Calder falls in with the Combined Fleets — They form a 
Junction with the Ferrol Squadron, and get into Cadiz — Nelson is 
reappointed to the Command — Battle of Trafalgar — Victory, and 
Death of Nelson. 

At Portsmouth^ Nelson at length found news of tlie 
combined fleet. ^ Sir Eobert Calder, who had been sent 
out to intercept their return, had fallen in with them on 
the 22d of July, sixty leagues west of Cape Finisterre. 
Their force consisted of twenty sail of the line, three 
fifty-gun ships, five frigates, and two brigs; his, of fifteen 
line of battle ships, two frigates, a cutter, and a lugger. 
After an action of four hours he had captured an eighty- 
four and a seventy-four, . and then thought it necessary 
to bring-to the squadron, for the purpose of securing their 
prizes. The hostile fieets remained in sight of each other 
till the 26th, when the enemy bore away. The capture of 
two ships from so superior a force, would have been con- 
sidered as no inconsiderable victory a few years earlier; 
but Nelson had introduced a new ^ra in our naval history; 
and the nation felt, respecting this action, as he had felt 
on a somewhat similar occasion.^ They regretted that 
Nelson, with his eleven ships, had not been in Sir Robert 
Calder's place; and their disappointment was generally 
and loudly expressed.^ 

Frustrated ^ as his own hopes had been. Nelson had yet 
the high satisfaction of knowing that his judgment had 

^ Villeneuve's fleet. 

^ What is the occasion referred to ? For a luminous and stirring 
account of this exciting period consult Mahan, Influence of Sea 
Power on French Revolution, ii., pp. 161-174. 

^ See p. 104 

^ Is the verb " frustrated " related in meaning to the noun " frus- 
trum," used in geometry ; for example, the "frustrum of a cone" ? 
Does this comparison make the image produced by " frustrated " 
any more vivid ? What principle of rhetoric is involved ? 



2QS THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

never been more conspicuously approved^ and that he had 
rendered essential service to his country, by driving the 
enemy from those islands, where they expected there could 
be no force capable of opposing them. The West India 
merchants in London, as men whose interests were more 
immediately benefited, appointed a deputation to express 
their thanks for his great and judicious exertions. It was 
now his intention to rest awhile from his labours, and re- 
cruit himself, after all his fatigues and cares, in the society 
of those whom he loved. All his stores were brought up 
from the Victory, and he found in his house at Merton 
the enjoyment which he had anticipated. ^ Many days had 
not elapsed before Captain Blackwood, on his way to Lon- 
don with despatches, called on him at five in the morning. 
Nelson, who was already dressed, exclaimed, the moment 
he saw him: " I am sure you bring me news of the French 
and Spanish fleets! I think I shall yet have to beat 
them!" They had refitted at Vigo, after the indecisive 
action with Sir Eobert Calder; then proceeded to Ferrol, 
brought out the squadron from thence, and with it entered 
Cadiz in safety! " Depend on it, Blackwood," he repeat- /O y 
edly said, "I shall yet give M. Villeneuve a drubbing. " z^^:^^ 
But, when Blackwood had left him, he wanted resolution 
to declare his wishes to Lady Hamilton and his sisters, and 
endeavoured to drive away the thought. He had done 
enough, he said: " Let the man trudge it who has lost his 
budget! " His countenance belied his lips: and as he was 
pacing one of the walks in the garden, which he used to 
call the quarter-deck. Lady Hamilton came up to him, 
and said she saw he was uneasy. He smiled, and said: 
^'No, he was as happy as possible; he was surrounded by 
his family, his health was better since he had been on 
shore, and he would not give sixpence to call the King his 
uncle." She replied, that she did not believe him, that 

^ During this period, he went often to the Admiralty and the 
office of the Secretary of State. At tlie latter he met on one of these 
occasions, for the only time, the Duke of Wellington, who seems to 
have formed a curious, and perhaps deserved, but not altogether 
complimentary opinion of his character. Half vapouring and vain- 
glorious charlatan, half well-informed officer and statesman, as vain 
as a child, and as fond of flattery as a woman — such was the judg^ 
ment of England's greatest soldier regarding England's most illus 
trious seaman. 



1805] THE LIFE OF NELSON 269 

slie knew he was longing to get at the combined fleets, 
that he considered them as his own property^ that he would 
be miserable if any man but himself did the business, and 
that he ought to have them^ as the price and reward of his 
two years' long watching, and his hard chase. " Nelson," 
said she, "however we may lament your absence, offer 
your services; they will be accepted, and you will gain a 
quiet heart by it; you will have a glorious victory, and 
then you may return here, and be happy." He looked at 
her with tears in his eyes: — " Brave Emma! — Good Emma! 
— If there were more Emmas, there would be more JSTel- 
sons." ^ 

His services were as willingly accepted as they were 
offered; and Lord Barham, giving him the list of the 
Navy, desired him to choose his own officers. " Choose 
yourself, my lord," was his reply: "the same spirit actu- 
ates the whole profession ; you cannot choose wrong. ' ' ^ 
Lord Barham then desired him to say what ships, and how 
many, he would wish in addition to the fleet which he was 
going to command, and said they should follow him as 
soon as each was ready. No appointment was ever more 
in unison with the feelings and judgment of the whole 
nation. They, like Lady Hamilton, thought that the 
destruction of the combined fleets ought properly to be 
Nelson's work; that he, who had been 

*' Half around the sea-girt ball. 
The hunter of the recreant Graul," * 

ought to reap the spoils of the chase, which he had watched 
so long, and so perseveringly pursued. 

Unremitting exertions were made to equip the ships 
which he had chosen, and especially to refit the Victory, 
which was once more to bear his flag. Before he left Lon- 

^ It is well established that Blackwood called by appointment, it 
being already arranged that Nelson should take command as soon as 
the proper moment arrived. Probably he did use some endearing 
epithets in addressing Lady Hamilton ; the rest of this pretty story 
is one of Harrison's perversions of the truth. 

' See p. 222. 

* Songs of Trafalgar, — Southey's Note. The Songs of Trafalgar 
were written by John Wilson Croker, to whom South ey dedicated 
this book. See Dedication, p. 2, and Introduction, p. xxi. 



270 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

don^ he called at Ms upholsterer's^ where the coffin which 
Captain Hallowell had given him was deposited^ and de- 
sired that his history might be engraven upon the lid, 
saying, it was highly probable he might want it on his 
return. He seemed, indeed, to have been impressed with 
an expectation that he should fall in battle. In a letter to 
his brother, written immediately after his return, he had 
said: "We must not talk of Sir Eobert Calder's battle. — 
I might not have done so much with my small force. If 
I had fallen in with them, you might probably have been 
a lord before I wished; for I know they meant to make a 
dead set at the Victory.'''' ISTelson had once regarded the 
prospect of death with gloomy satisfaction: it was when 
he anticipated the upbraidings of his wife, and the dis- 
pleasure of his venerable father. The state of his feelings 
now was expressed, in his private journal, in these words : 
"Friday night (September 13th) at half -past ten, I drove 
from dear, dear Merton ; where I left all which I hold dear 
in this world, to go to serve my king and country. May 
the great God, whom I adore, enable me to fulfil the ex- 
pectations of my country ! And, if it is His good pleasure 
that I should return, my thanks will never cease being 
offered up to the throne of His mercy. If it is His good 
providence to cut short my days upon earth, I bow with the 
greatest submission; relying that He will protect those so 
dear to me, whom I may leave behind ! His will be done. 
Amen ! Amen ! Amen ! ' ' 

Early on the following morning he reached Portsmouth ; 
and, having despatched his business on shore, endeavoured 
to elude the populace by taking a by-way to the beach; 
but a crowd collected in his train, pressing forward to ob- 
tain a sight of his face: many were in tears, and many 
knelt down before him, and blessed him as he passed. 
England has had many heroes, but never one who so en- 
tirely possessed the love of his fellow-countrymen as Nel- 
son. All men knew that his heart was as humane as it 
was fearless; that there was not in his nature the slightest 
alloy of selfishness or cupidity; but that, with perfect and 
entire devotion, he served his country with all his heart, 
and with all his soul, and with all his strength; and, there- 
fore, they loved him as truly and as fervently as he loved 
England. They pressed upon the parapet, to gaze after 



1805] THE LIFE OF NELSON 271 

him when his barge pushed off, and he was returning their 
cheers by waving his hat. The sentinels, who endeavoured 
to prevent them from trespassing upon this ground, were 
A^edged among the crowd; and an officer, who, not very 
prudently upon such an occasion, ordered them to drive the 
people down with their bayonets, was compelled speedily to 
retreat; for the people would not be debarred from gazing, 
till the last moment, upon the hero — the darling hero of 
England ! C 

He arrived off Cadiz on the 29tli of September — his 
birthday. Fearing that, if the enemy knew his force, they 
might be deterred from venturing to sea, he kept out of 
sight of land, desired Collingwood to fire no salute, and 
hoist no colours; and wrote to Gibraltar, to request that 
the force of the fleet might not be inserted there in the 
Gazette. His reception in the Mediterranean fleet was as 
,^ ratifying as the farewell of his countrymen at Portsmouth: 
the officers, who came on board to welcome him, forgot his 
rank as commander, in their joy at seeing him again. ^ 
On the day of his arrival, Villeneuve received orders to 
put to sea the first opportunity.^ Villeneuve, hoAvever, 
hesitated, when he heard that Nelson had resumed the 
command. He called a council of Avar; and. their deter- 
mination Avas, that it would not be expedient to leave 
Cadiz, unless they had reason to believe themseh^es 
stronger by one-third than the British force. In the pub- 
lic measures of this country, secrecy is seldom practicable,^ 
and seldomer attempted : here, hoAA^ever, by the precautions 
of Nelson, and the wise measures of the Admiralty, the 
enemy were for once kept in ignorance; for, as the ships 

^ The spot of English ground last trod by the hero's foot is now 
marked by a large anchor. On September 12, he called by invita- 
tion on the Prince of Wales at Carlton House ; on September 14, 
Mr. Rose and Mr. Canning dined with him aboard the Victory, 
'The latter impressed him as "a clever, deep-headed man," before 
whom "he did not mind letting out a little knowledge." 

2 Some of this joy was perhaps due to the disgust which the iron 
discipline of Collingwood had inspired. See Laughton, Nelsoii, 209. 

^ These orders came from Napoleon, who, though he knew nothing 
about sea affairs, took upon himself the responsibility of dictating 
in insulting terms to ViUeneuve. It is not improbable, however, 
that the want of supplies would have ultimately forced the French 
and Spanish to put to sea. 

^ Is this because of the publicity of the debates in Parliament ? 



272 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

appointed to reinforce the Mediterranean fleet were de- 
spatched singly, each as soon as it was ready, their collected 
number was not stated in the newspapers, and their arrival 
was not known to the enemy. But the enemy knew that 
Admiral Louis, with six sail, had been detached for stores 
and water to Gibraltar. Accident also contributed to 
make the French Admiral doubt whether Nelson himself 
had actually taken the command. An American, lately 
arrived from England, maintained that it was impossible, 
— for he had seen him only a few days before in London ; 
and, at that time, there was no rumour of his going again 
to sea. 

The station which Nelson had chosen was some fifty or 
sixty miles to the west of Cadiz, near Cape St. Mary's. At 
this distance he hoped to decoy the enemy out, while he 
guarded against the danger of being canght with a westerly 
wind near Cadiz, and driven within the Straits. The 
blockade of the port was rigourously enforced, in hopes 
that the combined fleet might be forced to sea by want. 
The Danish vessels, therefore, which were carrying pro- 
visions from the French ports in the bay, under the name 
of Danish property, to all the little ports from Ayamonte 
to Algeziras, from whence they were conveyed in coasting 
boats to Cadiz, were seized. Without this proper exertion 
of power, the blockade would have been rendered nugatory, 
by the advantage thus taken of the neutral flag. The 
supplies from France were thus effectually cut oif . There 
was now every indication that the enemy would speedily 
venture out : officers and men were in the highest spirits 
at the prospect of giving them a decisive blow; such, in- 
deed, as would put an end to all further contest upon the 
seas. Theatrical amusements were performed every even-- 
ing in most of the ships : and God Save the King was 
the hymn with which the sports concluded. ''I verily 
believe," said Nelson (writing on the 6th of October), 
" that the country will soon be put to some expense on my 
account; either a monument, or a new pension and hon- 
ours; for I have not the smallest doubt but that a very 
few days, almost hours, will put us in battle. The success 
no man can insure; but for the fighting them, if they can 
be got at, I pledge myself. — The sooner the better! I don't 
like to have these things upon my mind. ' ' 



1805] TEE LIFE OF NELSON 273 

At this time he was not without some cause of anxiety : 
he was in want of frigates^, — the eyes of the fleet, as he always 
called them : — to the want of which the enemy before were 
indebted for their escape, and Buonaparte for his arrival in 
Egypt. He had only twenty-three ships, — others were on 
the way, — but they might come too late; and, though ISTel- 
son never doubted of victory, mere victory was not what 
he looked to, he wanted to annihilate the enemy's fleet. 
The Oarthagena squadron ^ might effect a junction with this 
fleet on the one side; and, on the other, it was to be ex- 
pected that a similar attempt would be made by the French 
from Brest; in either case a formidable contingency to be 
apprehended by the blockading force. The Eochefort 
squadron did push out, and had nearly caught tlie Aga- 
memjion and VAimable in their way to reinforce the British 
Admiral. Yet Nelson at this time weakened his own fleet. 
He had the unpleasant task to perform of sending home 
Sir Robert Calder, whose conduct was to be made the sub- 
ject of a court-martial, in consequence of the general dis- 
satisfaction which had been felt and expressed at his im- 
perfect victory. Sir Robert Calder, and Sir John Orde,^ 
Nelson believed to be the only two enemies whom he had 
ever had in his profession; — and, from that sensitive deli- 
cacy which distinguished him, this made him the more 
scrupulously anxious to show every possible mark of respect 
and kindness to Sir Robert. He wished to detain him till 
after the expected action ; when the services which he might 
perform, and the triumphant joy which would be excited, 
would leave nothing to be apprehended from an inquiry 
into the previous engagement. Sir Robert,^ however, 
whose situation was very painful, did not choose to delay 
a trial, from the result of which he confidently expected a 
complete justification : and Nelson, instead of sending him 
home' in a frigate, insisted^ on his returning in his own 

^ It consisted of six Spanish ships. 

"" See p. 104 and p. 190. 

^ Sir Robert was sentenced to be severely reprimanded for not 
having done his utmost to renew the battle. Alison, in his history 
of Europe (vi. 40 ; vii. 5, note), defends Sir Robert, however, de- 
claring that his action "completely frustrated Napoleon's design of 
terminating the war in the British capital." 

* "Insisted" is too strong a word. Nelson, as is shown by other 
evidence, parted very reluctantly with Calder's ship. Does the fact 
18 



274 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

ninety-gun ship; ill as such a ship could at that time be 
spared. JSTothing could be more honourable than the feel- 
ing by which Nelson was influenced ; but^, at such a crisis, 
it ought not to have been indulged. 

On the 9th;, Nelson sent Collingwood what he called, in 
his diary, the JSTelson touch. ^ " I send you," said he, "my 
plan of attack, as far as a man dare venture to guess at the 
very uncertain position the enemy may be found in : but it is 
to place you perfectly at ease respecting my intentions, and 
to give full scope to your judgment for carrying them into 
effect. We can, my dear Coll, have no little jealousies. 
We have only one great object in view, that of annihilating 
our enemies, and getting a glorious peace for our country. 
No man has more confidence in another than I have in you ; 
and no man will render your services more justice than 
your very old friend Nelson and Bronte. ' ' ^ The order of 
sailing was to be the order of battle; the fleet in two lines, 
with an advance squadron of eight of the fastest sailing 
two-deckers. The second in command, having the entire 
direction of his line, was to break through the enemy, 
about the twelfth shijD from their rear: he would lead 
through the centre, and the advanced squadron was to cut 
off three or four ahead of the centre. This plan was to 
be adapted to the strength of the enemy, so that they 
should always be one-fourth superior to those whom they 
cutoff. Nelson said, "That his admirals and captains, 
knowing his precise object to be that of a close and decisive 
action, would supply any deficiency of signals, and act 
accordingly. In case signals cannot be seen or clearly 

that Sir Robert was willing thus to weaken his country's fleet at such 
a crisis affect your estimate of his character ? 

^ The student will find it a profitable exercise to collect all the 
specimens of the " Nelson touch," of which mention can be found in 
the book. 

^ "The dominant idea was that the lee line (of 16 ships), under 
Collingwood, should concentrate its attack on the 12 ships in the 
enemy's rear, while he himself, with the weather line and the ad- 
vanced squadron, should overawe the enemy's van and fall on their 
centre ; so that, when the battle was fairly joined, the whole 40 of 
the English ships should be clustered on about 26 of the enemy. It 
was most distinctly laid down that the lee line was to begin the 
action, and that his own first care would be to prevent the enemy's 
van interfering with the attack on their rear. No clearer exposition 
of tactical principles was ever penned." — Laughton, Nelson, 214. 



1805] THE LIFE OF NELSON 275 

understood, no captain can do wrong if lie places his ship 
alongside that of an enemy. " One of the last orders of this 
admirable man was, that the name and family of every 
officer, seaman, and marine, who might be killed or wounded 
in action, should be, as soon as possible, returned to him, 
in order to be transmitted to the Chairman of the Patriotic 
Fund, that the case might be taken into consideration, for 
the benefit of the sufferer or his family.^ 

About half-past nine in the morning of the 19th, the 
Mars, being the nearest to the fleet of the ships which formed 
the line of communication with the frigates in shore, re- 
peated the signal, that the enemy were coming out of port. 
The wind was at this time very light, with partial breezes, 
mostly from the S.S.W. Nelson ordered the signal to be 
made for a chase in the south-east quarter. About two, the 
repeating ships announced that the enemy were at sea. 
All night the British fleet continued under all sail, steer- 
ing to the south-east. At daybreak they were in the en- 
trance of the Straits, but the enemy were not in sight. 
About seven, one of the frigates made signal that the en- 
emy Avere bearing north. Upon this the Victory hove-to; 
and shortly afterwards Nelson made sail again to the 
northward. In the afternoon the wind blew fresh from 
the south-west, and the English began to fear that the foe 
might be forced to return to port. A little before sunset, 
however, Blackwood, in the Euryalus, telegraphed that 
they appeared determined to go to the westward. — "And 
that," said the Admiral in his Diary, " they shall not do, 
if it is in the power of Nelson and Bronte to prevent 
them." Nelson had signified to Blackwood that he de- 
pended upon him to keep sight of the enemy. They were 
observed so well, that all their motions were made known 
to him; and, as they wore twice, he inferred that they 
were aiming to keep the port of Cadiz open, and would 

^ The Belleisle and Polyphemus had recently joined the fleet. The 
hoops on their masts were not painted yellow, as were those of all 
his other vessels. At the last moment he ordered by signal that 
they be made to correspond in this respect, so as to be easily distin- 
guishable from the French vessels, the hoops on the masts of which 
were painted black. Nelson was tlie first to introduce black ports to 
break the yellow band along the ship's side. The interiors of ships at 
this time were painted a dull red, perhaps to avoid as far as possible 
the ghastliness of blood-stains, by softening the contrast. 



276 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

retreat there as soon as they saw the British fleet : for this 
reason he was very careful not to approach near enough to 
be seen by them during the night. At daybreak the com- 
bined fleets were distinctly seen from the Victory'' s deck, 
formed in a close line of battle ahead, on the starboard 
tack, about twelve miles to leeward, and standing to the 
south. Our fleet consisted of twenty-seven sail of the 
line and four frigates; theirs of thirty-three and seven large 
frigates. Their superiority was greater in size and weight 
of metal than in numbers. They had four thousand 
troops on board; and the best riflemen who could be pro- 
cured, many of them Tyrolese, were dispersed through 
the ships. Little did the Tyrolese, and little did the 
Spaniards, at that day, imagine what horrors the wicked 
tyrant ^ whom they served was preparing for their country.^ 
Soon after daylight Nelson came upon deck. The 21st 
of October was a festival in his family, because on that day 
his uncle. Captain Suckling, in the Dreadnought, with 
two other line of battle ships, had. beaten off a French 
squadron of four sail of the line and three frigates. Nel- 
son, with that sort of superstition from which few persons 
are entirely exempt, had more than once expressed his 
persuasion that this was to be the day of his battle also; 
and he was well pleased at seeing his prediction about to 
be verified. The wind was now from the west, light 
breezes, with a long heavy swell. Signal was made to bear 
down upon the enemy in two lines; and the fleet set all 
sail. Oollingwood, in the Royal Sovereign, led . the lee 
line of thirteen ships; the Victory led the weather line 
of fourteen. Having seen that all was as it should be, 
Nelson retired to his cabin, and wrote the following 
prayer : ^ 

^ Notice the different names applied by Southey to Napoleon and 
their fitness. When the Tyrolese revolted in 1809 Napoleon assisted 
the Bavarians in subduing them, and was responsible for the execu- 
tion of their leader Hofer. 

^ The student who will understand in its entirety the great drama 
that ended at Trafalgar will read Mahan, Influence of Sea Power on 
French Revolution, ii., pp. 117-181. 

^ He was found penning this upon his knees on his cabin floor by 
Lieutenant Pasco, who had some little private grievance to present, 
but was so struck with awe at his chief's occupation that he retired 
without mentioning it. 



1805] THE LIFE OF NELSON ^77 

'^ May the great God, whom I worship, grant to my 
country, and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great 
and glorious victory; and may no misconduct in any one 
tarnish it! and may humanity after victory be the pre- 
dominant feature in the British fleet! For myself individ- 
ually, I commit my life to Him that made me; and may 
His blessing alight on my endeavours for serving my coun- 
try faithfully! To Him I resign myself, and the just cause 
which is entrusted to me to defend. Amen, Amen, 
Amen." 

Having thus discharged his devotional duties, he an- 
nexed, in the same diary, the following remarkable writ- 
ing: 



a 



October 21st, 1805. — Then in sight of the combined 
fleets of France and Spain, distant ahout ten unites. 

*' Whereas the eminent services of Emma Hamilton, 
widow of the Right Honourable Sir William Hamilton, 
have been of the very greatest service to my King and my 
country, to my knowledge, without ever receiving any re- 
ward from either our King or country. 

"First, That she obtained the King of Spain's letter, 
in 1796, to his brother, the King of Naples, acquainting 
him of his intention to declare war against England; from 
which letter the ministry sent out orders to the then Sir 
John Jervis, to strike a stroke, if opportunity offered, 
against either the arsenals of Spain or her fleets. That 
neither of these was done is not the fault of Lady Hamil- 
ton; the opportunity might have been offered.^ 

" Secondly: The British fleet under my command could 
never have returned the second time to Egypt, had not 
Lady Hamilton's influence with the Queen of Naples 
caused letters to be wrote to the governor of Syracuse, that 
he was to encourage the fleet's being supplied with every- 
thing, should they put into any port in Sicily. We put 

^ That Lady Hamilton did secure such a letter may be regarded as 
certain ; that her success in so doing was due entirely to the belief 
of the Queen of Naples, that by giving the information it contained 
to the English Government she would be benefiting herself, is 
almost equally certain ; Lady Hamilton's service on this occasion 
was assuredly not of momentous importance. 



278 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

into Syracuse, and received every supply; went to Egypt, 
and destroyed the French fleet. ^ 

" Could I have rewarded these services, I would not now 
have called uj^on my country; but as that has not been in 
my power, I leave Emma Lady Hamilton therefore a leg- 
acy to my King and country, that they will give her an 
ample provision to maintain her rank in life. 

' ' I also leave to the beneficence of my country my 
adopted daughter, Horatia Nelson Thompson; and I de- 
sire she will use in future the name of Nelson only. 

'^ These are the only favours I ask of my King and coun- 
try, at this moment when I am going to fight their battle. 
May God bless my King and country, and all those I hold 
dear ! My relations it is needless to mention : they will, of 
course, be amply provided for. 

"Nelson a.isj) BKOi^TE." 

ii^T-> ( Hekkt Blackwood. 

Witness, ■j^.jjjj^j.py,,. 

The child of whom this writing speaks was believed to 
be his daughter, and so, indeed, he called her the last time 
that he pronounced her name.^ She was then about five 
years old, living at Merton, under Lady Hamilton's care. 

^ It is probably true that the Queen did write such letters or cause 
them to be written ; but how much Lady Hamilton's influence had 
to do with the matter is doubtful. 

^ Lady Hamilton charged Nelson's brother, the first Earl Nelson, 
with concealing the existence of this important codicil till it could 
be of no furtlier use to her. The accusation was probably un- 
founded. For a succinct presentation of the evidence see the note 
on page 298 of the Ilemoirs of Lady Hamilton. After the death of 
Nelson, Lady Hamilton's career was a melancholy one. She first 
contrived to disgust most of her friends by going repeatedly to the 
theatre to hear a song called the "Death of Nelson," and fainting 
dramatically each time. Then, though she had been provided with 
about £1,200 a year by Sir William and Nelson, she quickly ran 
through it all, and was cast into King's Bench for debt. When 
released in 1814 she retired to Calais, where she died January 15, 
1815. Many stories are told of the destitution in which the closing 
year of her life was passed ; her daughter Horatia in 1874 wrote, 
however, that, " although often certainly under very distressing cir- 
cumstances, she never experienced actual want." Horatia married 
Rev. Philip Ward in 1822, reared a large family, and died March 6, 
1881, aged eighty-one. Lady Nelson died May 4, 1831. 

^ There is no doubt of it, nor that Lady Hamilton was her mother. 



1805] THE LIFE OF NELSON 279 

The last minutes which ISTelson passed at Merton were em- 
ployed in praying over this child, as she lay sleeping. A 
portrait of Lady Hamilton hung in his cabin: and no 
Catholic ever beheld the picture of his patron saint with 
devouter reverence. The undisguised and romantic pas- 
sion with which he regarded it amounted almost to super- 
stition; and when .the portrait was now taken down, in 
clearing for action, he desired the men who removed it to 
"take care of his guardian angel." In this manner he 
frequently spoke of it, as if he believed there were a virtue 
in the image. He wore a miniature of her, also, next his 
heart. 

Blackwood went on board the Victory about six. He 
found him in good spirits, but very calm; not in that ex- 
hilaration which he had felt upon entering into battle at 
Aboukir and Copenhagen: he knew that his own life 
would be particularly aimed at, and seems to have looked 
for death with almost as sure an expectation as for vic- 
tory. His whole attention was fixed upon the enemy. 
They tacked to the northward, and formed their line on 
the larboard tack; thus bringing the shoals of Trafalgar ^ 
and St. Pedro under the lee of the British, and keeping 
the port of Cadiz open for themselves. This was judi- 
ciously done; and Nelson, aware of all the advantages 
which it gave them, made signal to prepare to anchor. 

Villeneuve was a skilful seaman; worthy of serving a 
better master, and a better cause. His i^'lan of defence 
was as well conceived, and as original, as the plan of at- 
tack. He formed the fleet in a double line; every alter- 
nate ship being about a cable's length to windward of her 
second ahead and astern. Nelson, certain of a triumph- 
ant issue to the day, asked Blackwood what he should con- 

^ The shoals of Trafalgar are about ten miles from Cape Trafalgar. 
The name should be accented on the last syllable, as in Byron's Ghilde 
Harold (ii. 40) : 



Oft did he mark the scene of vanished war, 
Actium, Lepanto, fatal Trafalgar," 



and (iv. 181) : 



"Thy [the ocean's] yeast of waves, which mar 
Alike the Armada's pride or spoils of Trafalgar." 

In the old song, however, it is Trafalgar : 

" 'Twas in Trafalgar's bay." 






S-PANISH I 



^f^i 




1805] 



THE LIFE OF NELSON 



281 



sider as a victory. That officer answered^ that, consider- 
ing the handsome way in which battle was offered by the 
enemy, their apparent determination for a fair trial of 
strength, and the situation of tiie land, he thought it 
would be a glorious result if fourteen were captured. He 
replied: ''I shall not be satisfied with less than twenty." 
Soon afterwards he asked him, if he did not think there 
was a signal wanting. Captain Blackwood made answer, 
that he thought the whole fleet seemed very clearly to under- 
stand what they were about. These words were scarcely 
spoken before that signal was made, which will be remem- 
bered as long as the language, or even the memory, of 
England shall endure; — IN'elson's last signal : — " England 
EXPECTS EVEEY MAN" TO DO HIS DUTY ! " ^ It was re- 
ceived throughout the fleet with a shout of answering 
acclamation, made sublime by the spirit which it breathed, 
and the feeling which it expressed. '^Now," said Lord 
Nelson, " I can do no more. We must trust to the great 
Disposer of all events, and the justice of our cause. I 
thank God for this great opportunity of doing my duty." 
He wore that day, as usual, his Admiral's frock-coat, 
bearing on the left breast four stars, of the different orders 

^ At first he proposed " Nelson confides, etc.," but somebody sug- 
gested "England confides," to which improvement he at once as- 
sented with the words, "Certainly, certainly." "Confides" was 
altered to " expects " because there was no number for the former in 
the Signal Book. The signal really read "will do his duty," not 
"to do." The method of telegraphing at sea is by flags of diiferent 
shapes and colors, for dift'erent numbers, corresponding to an alpha- 
betical list of words in the Signal Book. This book is bound in a 
cover of lead, to be thrown, in case of capture, into the sea. The 
numbers for this signal were : 



253 



269 



863 



261 



England expects that every man willj do his d u 



471 958 220 374 4 21 19 24 



y- 



Collingwood is said to have remarked to his flag-lieutenant with 
some impatience when he saw the fiags going up, " I wish Nelson 
would make no more signals. We all know what we have to do." 
When the signal was translated, however, he was delighted, and had 
it announced to the ship's company, among whom it created great 
enthusiasm. Most of the captains announced it and most of the 
crews received it in similar fashion. A colored plate representing 
the flags used in making it will be found as the frontispiece to 
W. Clark Russell's volume on Nelson. 



282 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

with wliicli he was invested.^ Ornaments which rendered 
him so conspicuous a mark for the enemy were beheld with 
ominous apprehensions by his officers. It was known that 
there were riflemen on board the French ships; and it could 
not be doubted but tliat his life would be particularly 
aimed at. They communicated their fears to each other; 
and the surgeon, Mr. Beatty,* spoke to the chaplain. Dr. 
Scott, and to Mr. Scott, the public secretary, desiring that 
some person would entreat him to change his dress, or 
cover the stars : but they knew that such a request would 
highly displease him. "In honour I gained them," he 
had said, when such a thing had been hinted to him for- 
merly, " and in honour I will die with them. " Mr. Beatty, 
however, would not have been deterred by any fear of ex- 
citing displeasure, from speaking to him himself upon a 
subject in which the weal of England, as well as the life 
of Nelson, was concerned, — but he was ordered from the 
deck before he could find an opportunity. This was a point 
upon which Nelson's officers knew that it was hopeless to 
remonstrate or reason with him ; but both Blackwood ^ and 
his own captain. Hardy, represented to him how advan- 
tageous to the fleet it would be for him to keep out of ac- 
tion as long as possible; and he consented at last to let the 
Leviatlian and the Tmneraire, which were sailing abreast 
of the Victory^ be ordered to pass ahead. Yet even here 
the last infirmity of this noble mind ^ was indulged; for 
these ships could not pass ahead if the Victory continued 

^ It was a common undress blue coat. The orders were sewn to 
it, not hung on. It is now preserved at Greenwich Hospital as a 
relic, together with his Nile coat. 

*In this part of the work I have chiefly been indebted to this 
gentleman's Narrative of Lord Nelson's Death — a document as in- 
teresting as it is authentic. — Southey's Note. 

^ Blackwood endeavored to persuade him to go aboard the Eurya- 
lus, a frigate which was to take no part in the action, but he would 
not listen to it. Do you think that in a naval action it would be well 
for the commander-in-chief to remain at a distance from the scene 
of combat, as a general in a land battle does ? Did Nelson go into 
this fight because he felt that his example would be worth more than 
his precepts, or merely because he loved the smell of powder ? Or 
was there a suspicion of suicide in the act, inspired by the fear, often 
expressed in his letters, that he was fast becoming blind, a misfor- 
tune which, he said, he could not contemplate with equanimity ? For 
another possible motive see pp. 238, 239. 

^ The pupil should find this phrase in Milton's Lycidas. 



1805] THE LIFE OF NELSON 283 

to carry all her sail ; and so far was Nelson from shortening 
sail, that it was evident he took pleasure in pressing on^ 
and rendering it impossible for them to obey his own 
orders. A long swell was setting into the Bay of Cadiz : 
our ships, crowding all sail, moved majestically before it, 
with light winds from the south-west. The sun shone on 
the sails of the enemy ; and their well -formed line, with their 
numerous three-deckers, made an appearance which any 
other assailants would have thought formidable; — but the 
British sailors only admired the beauty and the splendour 
of the spectacle; and, in full confidence of winning what 
they saw, remarked to each other, what a fine sight yonder 
ships would make at Spithead! 

The French Admiral, from the Bticentaure, beheld the 
new manner in which his enemy was advancing — Nelson 
and Collingwood each leading his line; and pointing them 
out to his officers, he is said to have exclaimed, that such 
conduct could not fail to be successful. Yet Villeneuve 
had made his own dispositions with the utmost skill, and 
the fleets under his command waited for the attack with 
perfect coolness. Ten minutes before twelve they opened 
their fire. Eight or nine of the ships immediately ahead 
of the Victory, and across her bows, fired single guns at 
her, to ascertain whether she was yet within their range. 
As soon as Nelson perceived that their shot passed over him, 
he desired Blackwood, and Captain Prowse, of the Sirms, 
to repair to their respective frigates; and, on their way, to 
tell all the captains of the line of battle ships that he de- 
pended on their exertions; and that, if by the prescribed 
mode of attack they found it impracticable to get into ac- 
tion immediately, they might adopt whatever they thought 
best, provided it led them quickly and closely alongside an 
enemy. As they were standing on the front of the poop, 
Blackwood took him by the hand, saying, he hoped soon 
to return and find him in possession of twenty prizes. He 
replied, '^ God bless you, Blackwood; I shall never see you 
again! " 

Nelson's column was steered about two points ^ more to 
the north than Collingwood 's, in order to cut off the en- 
emy's escape into Cadiz: the lee line, therefore, was first 
engaged. "See," cried Nelson, pointing to the Royal 

^ There are 33 points in the mariner's compass. 



284 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

Sovereign,'^ as slie steered right for the centre of the en- 
emy's line, cut through it astern of the Santa A^ia, 
three-decker, and engaged her at the muzzle of her guns 
on the starboard side; "see how that noble fellow, Ool- 
lingwood, carries his ship into action! " Collingwood, 
delighted at being first in the heat of the fire, and know- 
ing the feelings of his Commander and old friend, turned 
to his Captain, and exclaimed: " Rotherham, what would 
Nelson give to be here? " Both these brave officers, per- 
haps, at this moment, thought of Nelson with gratitude, 
for a circumstance which had occurred on the preceding 
day. Admiral Collingwood, with some of the captains, 
having gone on board the Victory to receive instructions. 
Nelson inquired of him where his Captain was ; and was 
told, in reply, that they were not upon good terms with 
each other. "Terms! " said Nelson; — "good terms with 
each other! " Immediately he sent a boat for Captain 
Rotherham; led him, as soon as he arrived, to Colling- 
wood, and saying, — " Look; yonder are the enemy! " bade 
them shake hands like Englishmen. 

The enemy continued to fire a gun at a time at the Vic- 
tory, till they saw that a shot had passed through her main- 
top-gallant sail ; then they opened their broadsides, aiming 
chiefly at her rigging in the hope of disabling her before 
she could close with them. Nelson, as usual, had hoisted 
several flags, lest one should be shot away. The enemy 
showed no colours till late in the action, when they began 
to feel the necessity of having them to strike. For this 
reason, the Santissima Trinidad, Nelson's old acquaint- 
ance, as he used to call her, was distinguishable only by 
her four decks ; ^ and to the bow of this opponent he or- 

^ The Royal Sovereign, so bad was the enemy's gunnery, suffered 
no loss of any importance, except that which drew from Cohingwood 
the mournful exclamation : ' ' Oh dear, oh dear ! I forgot to shift that 
new foretopsail. It won't be worth anything after this." She did 
not fire a gun until about 12 : 20, when, as she passed slowly between 
the stern of the Santa Ana and the bows of the Fougueux, a 68- 
pound carronade on the port side of the forecastle, loaded with one 
round shot and a keg of 500 musket balls, was slapped directly into 
the stern of the Santa Ana. A second or two later, the starboard 
carronade, loaded in the same way, was discharged into the bows of 
the Fougueux. In like manner, all her guns as they bore were fired. 

^ See p. 99. The Santissifna Trinidad really had only three decks, 
guns being placed along her gangways. 



1805] THE LIFE OF NELSON 285 

dered the Victory to be steered. Meantime, an incessant 
raking fire was kept up upon the Victoiy. The Admiral's 
secretary was one of the first who fell; he was killed by a 
cannon-shot while conversing with Hardy. Captain Adair 
of the marines, with the help of a sailor, endeavoured to 
remove the body from Nelson's sight, who had a great re- 
gard for Mr. Scott; but he anxiously asked: " Is that poor 
Scott that's gone ? " and being informed that it was indeed 
so, exclaimed: "Poor fellow!" Presently, a double- 
headed shot struck a party of marines, who were drawn 
up on the poop, and killed eight of them: upon which 
Nelson immediately desired Captain Adair to disperse his 
men round the ship, that they might not suffer so much 
from being together. A few minutes afterwards a shot 
struck the fore-brace bits on the quarter-deck, and passed 
between Nelson and Hardy, a splinter from the bit tearing 
off Hardy's buckle, and bruising his foot. Both stopped, 
and looked anxiously at each other : each supposed the other 
to be wounded. Nelson then smiled, and said: "This is 
too Avarm work. Hardy, to last long. ' ' 

The Victo7'y had not yet returned a single gun; fifty of 
her men had been by this time killed or wounded, and her 
main-top-mast with all her studding-sails and their booms 
shot away. Nelson declared, that, in all his battles, he 
had seen nothing which surpassed the cool courage of his 
crew on this occasion. At four minutes after twelve, she 
opened her fire from both sides of her deck. It was not pos- 
sible to break the enemy's line without running on board 
one of their ships : Hardy informed him of this, and asked 
him which he would prefer. Nelson replied: " Take your 
choice. Hardy, it does not signify much." The Master was 
ordered to put the helm to port, and the Victo7'y ^ ran on 
board ^ the RedoutaUe, just as her tiller- ropes were shot 
away. The French ship received her with a broadside ; then 
instantly let down her lower-deck ports, for fear of being 
boarded through them, and never afterwards fired a great 
gun during the action. Her tops, like those of all the en- 

^ She discharged her first broadside into the stern of the Bucen- 
taure exactly as the Royal Sovereigti had discharged hers into the 
stern of the Santa Ana. It is said that 400 men were killed and 
wounded, and 20 guns disabled by that one fearful volley. 

^ To get alongside in a position for boarding. 



286 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

emy's ships, were filled with riflemen, l^elson never placed 
musketry in his tops; he had a strong dislike to the prac- 
tice: not merely becanse it endangers setting fire to the 
sails, but also because it is a murderous sort of warfare, by 
which individuals may suffer, and a commander now and 
then be picked off, but which never can decide the fate of 
a general engagement.^ 

Captain Harvey, in the Temeraire, fell on board the Re- 
doutable on the other side. Another enemy was in like 
manner on board the Temeraire, so that these four ships 
formed as compact a tier as if they had been moored to- 
gether, their heads lying all the same way. The lieutenants 
of the Victory, seeing this, depressed the guns of the 
middle and lower decks, and fired with a diminished 
charge, lest the shot should pass through, and injure the 
Temeraire. And because there was danger that the Re- 
doutable might take fire from the lower-deck guns, the 
muzzles of which touched her side when they were run 
out, the fire-man of each gun stood ready with a bucket of 
water; which, as soon as the gun was discharged, he 
dashed into the hole made by the shot.^ An incessant fire 
was kept up from the Victory from both sides; her lar- 
board guns playing upon the Biicentaure, and the huge 
Santissima Trinidad. 

It had been part of Nelson's prayer, that the British fleet 
might be distinguished by humanity in the victory which he 
expected. Setting an example himself, he twice gave or- 
ders to cease firing upon the Redoutable, supposing that 
she had struck, because her great guns were silent; for, as 
she carried no flag, there was no means of instantly as- 
certaining the fact. From this ship, which he had thus 
twice spared, he received his death. A ball fired from her 
mizen-top, which, in the then situation of the two ves- 
sels, was not more than fifteen yards from that part of the 

^ At one time, the Victory's upper deck being almost cleared of 
men by the musketry from the Frenchman's tops, the Redoutable, 
endeavored to board ; but Mr. Wilmot, the boatswain, fired the 
starboard forecastle carronade into the midst of their company, as it 
crowded together in the gangway, causing fearful havoc, the gun 
being loaded with 500 musket balls in addition to its usual charge. 
Out of 643 men on board the Redoutable 300 were killed and 222 
wounded. 

2 The truth of this story is denied by James in his Naval History. 



1805] THE LIFE OF NELSON 287 

deck where lie was standings struck the epaulette on his 
left shoulder, about a quarter after one, just in the heat 
of the action. He fell upon his face, on the spot which 
was covered Avith his poor secretary's blood. Hardy, who 
was a few steps from him, turning round, saw three men 
raising him up. "^ They have done for me at last, Hardy ! ' ' 
said he. — "I hope not!" cried Hardy. — "Yes!" he 
replied; "my back-bone is shot through!" Yet even 
now, not for a moment losing his presence of mind, he 
observed, as they were carrying him down the ladder, that 
the tiller-ropes, which had been shot away, were not yet 
replaced, and ordered that new ones should be rove imme- 
diately: — then, that he might not be seen by the crew, he 
took out his handkerchief, and covered his face and his 
stars. Had he but concealed these badges of honour from 
the enemy, England, perhaps, would not have had cause 
to receive with sorrow the news of the battle of Trafalgar. 
The cockpit was crowded with wounded and dying men; 
over whose bodies he was with some difficulty conveyed, 
and laid upon a p)allet in the midshipmen's birth. It 
was soon perceived, upon examination, that the wound was 
mortal. This, however, was concealed from all except 
Captain Hardy, the chaplain, and the medical attendants. 
He himself being certain, from the sensation in his back, 
and the gush of blood he felt momently within his breast, 
that no human care could avail him, insisted that the sur- 
geon should leave him, and attend to those to whom he 
might be useful; "For," said he, "you can do nothing 
for me." — All that could be done was to fan him with 
paper, and frequently to give him lemonade to alleviate 
his intense thirst. He was in great pain, and expressed 
much anxiety for the event of the action, which now be- 
gan to declare itself. ' As often as a ship struck, the crew 
of the Victory hurraed; and at every hurra, a visible 
expression of joy gleamed in the eyes, and marked the 
countenance, of the dying hero. But he became impa- 
tient to see Captain Hardy; and as that officer, though 
often sent for, could not leave the deck, Nelson feared 
that some fatal cause prevented him, and repeatedly cried : 
"Will no one bring Hardy to me? He must be killed! 
He is surely dead! " — An hour and ten minutes elapsed 
from the time when Nelson received his wound, before 



288 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

Hardy could come to him. They shook hands in silence; 
Hardy in vain struggling to suppress the feelings of that 
most painful and yet sublimest moment. " Well, Hardy/' 
said Nelson; " how goes the day with us ? " — " Very well," 
replied Hardy; "ten shijos have struck, but five of the 
van have tacked, and show an intention to bear down on 
the Victory. I have called two or three of our fresh ships 
round, and have no doubt of giving them a drubbing." — 
" I hope," said Nelson, " none of our ships have struck ? " 
Hardy answered, "There was no fear of that." Then, 
and not till then, Nelson spoke of himself. "I am a 
dead man, Hardy," said he: "I am going fast: — it will 
be all over with me soon. Come nearer to me. Let my 
dear Lady Hamilton have my hair, and all other things be- 
longing to me." Hardy observed, that he hoped Mr. 
Beatty would hold out some prospect of life. " Oh no! " 
he replied: "it is impossible; my back is shot through. 
Beatty will tell you so." Captain Hardy then, once more, 
shook hands with him; and with a heart almost bursting, 
hastened upon deck. 

By this time all feeling below the breast was gone; and 
Nelson, having made the surgeon ascertain this, said to 
him : ' ' You know I am gone. I know it. I feel some- 
thing rising in my breast ' ' — putting his hand on his left 
side — " which tells me so. " And upon Beatty's ^ inquiring 
whether his pain was very great? he replied, " so great, 
that he wished he was dead. Yet," said he, in a lower 
voice, " one would like to live a little longer too! " ^ And 
after a few minutes, in the same under tone, he added — 
" What would become of poor Lady Hamilton if she knew 
my situation! " Next to his country, she occupied his 
thoughts. Captain Hardy, some fifty minutes after he had 
left the cockpit, returned; and again taking the hand of 
his dying friend and commander, congratulated him on 
having gained a complete victory. How many of the en- 



^ Nelson's surgeon in the Victory ; afterwards Sir William Beatty, 
M.D., Physician to the Fleet and Physician at Greenwich Hospital. 
He wrote the best narrative of Trafalgar that we have, and kept the 
fatal bullet, which was afterwards presented to Queen Victoria, and 
is now at Windsor Castle. 

-*'The firing shook him so that he cried out, "0 Victory, Victory, 
how you disturb my poor brain ! " 



1805J THE LIFE OF NELSON 289 

emy were taken he did not know, as it was impossible to 
perceive them distinctly; but fourteen or fifteen at least. 
"That's well," cried Nelson; "but I bargained for 
twenty. ' ' And then, in a stronger voice, he said : ' ' An- 
chor, Hardy; anchor." Hardy, upon this, hinted that 
Admiral Oollingwood would take upon himself the direc- 
tion of affairs. " Not while I live. Hardy," said the dying 
JSTelson, ineffectually endeavouring to raise himself from 
the bed: " do you anchor." His previous order for pre- 
paring to anchor had shown how clearly he foresaw the 
necessity of this. Presently, calling Hardy back, he said 
to him, in a low voice, "Don't throw me overboard:" 
and he desired that he might be buried by his parents, un- 
less it should please the King to order otherwise. Then 
reverting to private feelings: " Take care of my dear Lady 
Hamilton, Hardy: take care of poor Lady Hamilton. — 
Kiss me. Hardy," said he.^ Hardy knelt down and kissed 
his cheek: and Nelson said, " Now I am satisfied. Thank 
God, I have done my duty! " Hardy stood over him in 
silence for a moment or two, then knelt again, and kissed 
his forehead. "Who is that?" said Nelson; and being 
informed, he replied: "God bless you. Hardy!" And 
Hardy then left him — for ever. 

Nelson now desired to be turned upon his right side, and 
said, " I wish I had not left the deck; for I shall soon be 
gone." Death was, indeed, rapidly approaching. He 
said to the chaplain, " Doctor, I have not been a great 
sinner: " and after a short pause, " remember that I leave 
Lady Hamilton, and my daughter Horatia as a legacy to 
my country. " His articulation now became difficult; but 
he was distinctly heard to say, " Thank God, I have done 
my duty! " These words he repeatedly pronounced; and 
they were the last words which he uttered. He expired at 
thirty minutes after four, — three hours and a quarter after 
he had received his wound. 

Within a quarter of an hour after Nelson was wounded, 
above fifty of the Victory's men fell by the enemy's mus- 
ketry. They, however, on their part, were not idle; and 
it was not long before there were only two Frenchmen left 

^ " Everybody must remember the immortal scene on board the 
Victory, at 4 p.m. of 21 October, 1805, and the farewell 'Kiss me, 
Hardy,' of the mighty Admiral." — De Quincey. 
19 



290 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

alive in the mizen-top of tlie RedoutaUe. One of them 
was the man who had given the fatal wound; he did not 
live to boast of what he had done.^ An old quarter-master 
had seen him fire; and easily recognised him^ because he 
wore a glazed cocked hat and a white frock. This quar- 
ter-master and two midshipmen^ Mr. Collingwood and Mr. 
Pollard, were the only persons left in the Victory^ s poop; 
— the two midshipmen kept firing at the top, and he sup- 
plied them with cartridges. One of the Frenchmen, at- 
temiDting to make his escape down the rigging, was shot by 
Mr. Pollard, and fell on the poop. But the old quarter- 
master, as he cried out, " That's he — that's he," and 
pointed at the other, who was coming forward to fire again, 
received a shot in his mouth, and fell dead. Both the 
midshipmen then fired at the same time, and the fellow 
dropped in the top. When they took possession of the 
prize, they went into the mizen-top, and found him dead; 
with one ball through his head, and another through his 
breast. 

The Redoutahle struck within twenty minutes after the 
fatal shot had been fired from her. During that time she 
had been twice on fire, — in her fore-chains, and in her fore- 
castle. The French, as they had done in other battles, 
made use in this of fire-balls, and other combustibles; im- 
plements of destruction, which other nations, from a sense 
of honour and humanity, have laid aside ; which add to the 
sufferings of the wounded, without determining the issue 

^ This is at least open to doubt. In the Memoirs of Sergeant Robert 
Guillemard, who was stationed in the rigging of the Redoutahle, 
occurs the following remarkable passage : "In the stern of the Vic- 
tory stood an officer covered with decorations, who had only one 
arm. From what I had heard of Nelson, I had no doubt it was he. 
As I had received no command to come down out of the rigging, 
and found myself forgotten in the top, I deemed it my duty to fire 
into the stern of the English ship. ... I might have aimed at 
particular individuals, but I preferred to fire into the separate 
groups which surrounded the different officers. All at once I per- 
ceived a great commotion on board the Victory. The people crowded 
around the officer in whom I believed I had recognized Lord Nelson. 
He had fallen to the deck, and they carried him away at once, cov- 
ered with a mantle. The excitement among the Victory^s crew con- 
firmed me in the belief that I had not been deceived, and that it was 
indeed the British Admiral. A moment later the Victory ceased 
firing. " 



1805] THE LIFE OF NELSON 291 

of the combat: wliicli none but the cruel would employ, 
and which never can be successful against the brave. Once 
they succeeded in setting fire, from the RedoutaUe, to 
some ropes and canvas on the Victory's booms. The cry 
ran through the ship, and reached the cockpit: but even 
this dreadful cry produced no confusion: the men dis- 
played that perfect self-possession in danger by which Eng- 
lish seamen are characterised ; they extinguished the flames 
on board their own ship, and then hastened to extinguish 
them in the enemy, by throwing buckets of water from 
the gangway. When the Redoutahle had struck, it was 
not practicable to board her from the Victory, for, though 
the two ships touched, the ujoper works of both fell in so 
much that there was a great space between their gangways ; 
and she could not be boarded from her lower or middle 
decks, because her ports were down. Some of our men 
• went to Lieutenant Quilliam and offered to swim under her 
bows, and get up there; but it was thought unfit to hazard 
brave lives in this manner. 

What our men would have done from gallantry, some of 
the crew of the Santissima Trinidad did to save them- 
selves. Unable to stand the tremendous fire of the Vic- 
tory, whose larboard guns played against this great four- 
decker, and not knowing how else to escape them, nor 
where else to betake themselves for protection, many of 
them leapt overboard, and swam to the Victory ; and were 
actually helped up her sides by the English during the 
action. The Spaniards began the battle with less vivacity 
than their unworthy allies, but they continued it with greater 
firmness. The Argo7iaiita and Baliama were defended till 
they had each lost about four hundred men; the San Juan 
Nepo7nuceno lost three hundred and fifty. Often as the 
superiority of British courage has been proved against 
France upon the seas, it was never more conspicuous than 
in this decisive conflict. Five of our ships were engaged 
muzzle to muzzle with five of the French. In all five, the 
Frenchmen lowered their lower-deck ports, and deserted 
their guns; while our men continued deliberately to load 
and fire, till they had made the victory secure. 

Once, amidst his sufferings, Nelson had expressed a wish 
that he were dead ; but immediately the spirit subdued the 
pains of death, and he wished to live a little longer; — 



293 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1805 

doubtless that lie miglit hear the completion of the victory 
which he had seen so gloriously begun. That consolation, — 
that joy. — that triumph, — was afforded him. He lived to 
know that the victory was decisive; and the last guns which 
were fired at the flying enemy were heard a minute or two 
before he expired. The ships which were thus flying were 
four of the enemy's van, all French, under Rear- Admiral 
Dumanoir. They had borne no part in the action; and 
now, when they were seeking safety in flight, they fired 
not only into the Vict07'y and Royal Sovereigyi as they 
passed, but poured their broadsides into the Spanish cap--?/ 
tured ships; and they were seen to back their top-sails, fo// 
the purpose of firing with more precision. The indigna-' 
tion of the Spaniards at this detestable cruelty from their 
allies, for whom they had fought so bravely, and so pro- 
fusely bled, may well be conceived. It was such, that 
when, two days after the action, seven of the ships which 
had escaped into Cadiz came out, in hopes of retaking 
some of the disabled prizes, the prisoners in the Argo- 
nauta, in a body, offered their services to the British prize- 
master, to man the guns against any of the French ships : 
saying, that if a Spanish ship came alongside they would 
quietly go below; but they requested that they might be 
allowed to fight the French, in resentment for the mur- 
derous usage which they had suffered at their hands. 
Such was their earnestness, and such the implicit confi- 
dence which could be placed in Spanish honour, that the 
offer was accepted; and they were actually stationed at 
the lower-deck guns. Dumanoir and his squadron were 
not more fortunate than the fleet from whose destruction 
they fled : they fell in with Sir Richard Strachan, who was 
cruising for the Rochefort squadron, and were all taken. 
In the better days of France, if such a crime could then 
have been committed, it would have received an exemplary 
punishment from the French government : under Buona- 
parte, it was sure of impunity, and, perhaps, might be 
thought deserving of reward. But, if the Spanish court 
had been independent, it would become us to have deliv- 
ered Dumanoir and his captains up to Spain, that they 
might have been brought to trial, and hanged in sight of 
the remains of the Spanish fleet. 

The total British loss in the battle of Trafalgar amounted 



1805] TEE LIFE OF NELSON 293 

to 1587. Twenty of the enemy struck; but it was not 
possible to anchor the fleet,* as Nelson had enjoined; — a 
gale came on from the south-west; some of the prizes 
went down, some went on shore; one effected its escape 
into Cadiz; others were destroyed; four only were saved, 
and those by the greatest exertions. The wounded Span- 
iards were sent ashore, an assurance being given that they 
should not serve till regularly exchanged; and the Span- 
iards, with a generous feeling which would not, perhaps, 
have been found in any other people, offered the use of 
their hospitals for our wounded, pledging the honour of 
Spain that they should be carefully attended there. When 
the storm, after the action, drove some of the prizes upon 
the coast, they declared that the English, who were thus 
thrown into their hands, should not be considered as pris- 
oners of war; and the Spanish soldiers gave up their own 
beds to their shipwrecked enemies. The Spanish Vice- 
Admiral, Alava, died of his wounds. Villeneuve was senl^ 
to England, and permitted to return to France. The 
French government say that he destroyed himself on the 
way to Paris, dreading the consequences of a court-mar- 
tial : but there is every reason to believe that the tyrant, 
who never acknowledged the loss of the battle of Trafal- 
gar, added Villeneuve to the numerous victims of his mur- 
derous policy.^ 

It is almost superfluous to add, that all the honours 
which a grateful country could bestow were heaped upon 
the memory of Nelson. His brother was made an Earl, 
with a grant of £6,000 a year; £10,000 were voted to each 

* In the former editions it was said that unhappily the fleet did not 
anchor : implying an opinion that Nelson's orders ought to have been 
followed by his successor. From the recently published Memoirs 
and Correspondence of Lord Collingwood, it appears that this was 
not practicable, and that if it had been, and had been done, the con- 
sequences, from the state of the weather (which Nelson could not 
foresee), would, in all likelihood, have been more disastrous than they 
were. 

Having thus referred to Lord CoUingwood's Life, I may be allowed 
to say that the publication of this volume is indeed a national good. 
It ought to be in every officer's cabin and in every statesman's cabi- 
net. — Southey's Note. 

^ " The naval power of France was, for the time, completely bro- 
ken ; and during the rest of the war, which lasted for another 
ten years, the command of the sea was held by us in a grip which 



294 TEE LIFE OF NELSON [1806 

of his sisters; and £100,000 for the purchase of an estate.^ 
A public Funeral was decreed,^ and a public monument.^ 

the enemy scarcely attempted to dispute." — Laughton, Nelson, p. 
238. 

" Trafalgar was not only the greatest naval victory, it was the 
greatest and most momentous victory won either by land or by sea 
during the whole of the Revolutionary War. No victory, and no 
series of victories of Napoleon, produced the same effect upon Europe. 
. . . A generation passed after Trafalgar before France again 
seriously threatened England upon the sea. The prospect of crush- 
ing the British Navy, so long as England had the means to equip a 
navy, vanished. Napoleon henceforth set his hopes on exhausting 
England's resources, by compelling every state on the Continent to 
exclude her commerce. Trafalgar forced him to impose his yoke 
upon all Europe, or to abandon the hope of conquering Great Britain. 
. . Nelson's last triumph left England in such a position that 
no means remained to injure her but those which must result in the 
ultimate deliverance of the Continent." — Fyffe, History of Ilodern 
Europe, i., p. 281. 

^ This estate is Trafalgar Park, near Salisbury. The sum of 
£320,000 was voted to the fleet as compensation for the prizes lost. 
Admiral Collingwood was created a peer, and died 1810, on board 
his flag-ship, the Ville de Paris. 

^ Lord St. Vincent said of Trafalgar that he "was prepared for 
everything great from Nelson, but not for his death." The Victory, 
being refitted, brought home the body, preserved in spirits, to Ports- 
mouth (December 4), from which it was taken round to Greenwich, 
where it lay in state in Captain Hallowell's coffin ; thence up the 
river, headed by the Corporation barges, to the Admiralty. From 
here, on January 9, 1806, it was attended by a great procession, in- 
cluding the crew of the Victory, Greenwich pensioners, volunteers, 
troops, city functionaries, and officers of state, headed by the Prince 
of Wales and the Duke of Clarence, to St. Paul's Cathedral ; where 
Nelson lies, next to the remains of Wellington. 

In his noble Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington, Tennyson 

makes Nelson ask the following question : 

" Who is he that cometh like an honour'd guest 
With banner, and witli music, witli soldier and with priest, 
With a nation weeping and breaking on my rest ? " 

And the poet replies : 

" Mighty seaman, this is he 
Was great by land, as thou by sea. 
Thine island loves thee well, thou famous man, 
The greatest sailor since the world began. 
Now to the roll of muffled drums, 
To thee the greatest soldier comes ; 
For this is he 
Was great by land as thou by sea." 

Near by lie also Lord Collingwood, Lord Northesk, and Captain 
Foley. Nelson was buried in a sarcophagus said to have been made 
for Henry VIII. at the expense of Cardinal Wolsey. 

^ This monument in the form of the Nelson column is found to- 



1806] THE LIFE OF NELSON 295 

Statues and monuments also were voted by most of our 
principal cities. The leaden coffin, in which he was 
brought home/ was cut in pieces, which were distributed 
as relics of Saint Nelson, — so the gunner of the Victory ^ 
called them; — and when, at his interment, his flag was 
about to be lowered into the grave, the sailors, who assisted 
at the ceremony, with one accord rent it in pieces, that 
each might preserve a fragment while he lived. 

The death of Nelson was felt in England as something 
more than a public calamity: men started at the intelli- 
gence, and turned pale ; as if they had heard of the loss of 

day in Trafalgar Square, the most prominent spot in all London, 
pronounced by Chantrey to be "the most favorable site that could 
be found or imagined for any national work of art," and by Sir 
Robert Peel, " one of the finest sites in Europe." The column was 
erected 1840-43, with funds raised by public subscription aided by 
the government. It is said to be of the exact proportions of a col- 
umn of the Corinthian Temple of Mars Ultor at Rome. It is of 
Portland stone, 145 feet high, and was designed by Mr, Railton. The 
capital of this column is made of bronze obtained from cannon cap- 
tured by Nelson. The column is surmounted by a statue of Nelson, 
17 feet high, sculptured by E. H. Bailey, R.A. The pedestal has 
upon each of its four sides a relief in bronze. That on the north 
represents the Battle of the Nile. Nelson has just been wounded. 
The surgeon hastens to his relief, leaving a wounded sailor to attend 
him. "No," said Nelson, "I will take my turn with my brave 
fellows." On the south the Death of Nelson at Trafalgar is repre- 
sented. "Well, Hardy," said Nelson to his captain, "they have 
done forme at last." " I hope not," was the reply. "Yes, they 
have shot me through the backbone." Beneath are the words, 
"England expects that every man will do his duty." On the east is 
the Bombardment of Copenhagen, Nelson sealing his despatch to the 
Prince ; on the west the Battle of St. Vincent, Nelson on board the 
San Josef receiving the swords of the Spanish admirals. Four mag- 
nificent bronze lions by Landseer guard the base of the column. 

^ The Victory has been preserved, like our own Constitution, and 
lies to-day in Portsmouth Harbor. Upon her deck is marked the 
spot where Nelson fell. She was visited on Trafalgar Day, 1844, 
by Queen Victoria. She has an extreme length of 226^ feet, a beam 
of 52, and a depth of hold of 21^. Her three gun-decks carry each 
80 guns. Her displacement was 2,200 tons. Her successors, the 
Nile and Trafalgm^ are 345 feet long, 73 feet beam, 27^ feet draught, 
and 12,500 tons displacement. This great disparity in displacement 
is due to the added weight of engines, guns and material (steel in- 
stead of wood) in the new ships. The Victory had 102 guns at Tra- 
falgar ; the Trafalgar and Nile carry only 26 ; but while the Vic- 
tory's broadside threw only 1,180 pounds, one gun of the modern 
ships will throw a shell weighing 1,250 pounds. 



296 THE LIFE OF NELSON [1806 

a dear friend.^ An object of our admiration and affec- 
tion, of our pride and of our liopes^, was suddenly taken 
from us; and it seemed as if we had never, till then, known 
how deeply we loved and reverenced him. What the coun- 
try had lost in its great naval hero — the greatest of our 
own and of all former times, was scarcely taken into the 
account of grief. So perfectly, indeed, had he performed 
his part, that the maritime war, after the battle of Trafal- 
gar, was considered at an end : the fleets of the enemy were 
not merely defeated, but destroyed: new navies must be 
built, and a new race of seamen reared for them, before 
the possibility of their invading our shores could again be 
contemplated. It was not, therefore, from any selfish re- 
flection upon the magnitude of our loss that we mourned 
for him: the general sorrow was of a higher character. 
The people of England grieved that funeral ceremonies, 
and public monuments, and posthumous rewards, were all 
which they could now bestow upon him, whom the King, the 
Legislature, and the nation, would have alike delighted to 
honour; whom every tongue would have blessed; whose 
presence in every village through which he might have 
passed would have wakened the church bells, have given 
schoolboys a holiday, have drawn children from their sports 
to gaze upon him, and " old men from the chimney cor- 
ner,"^ to look upon Nelson ere they died. The victory of 
Trafalgar was celebrated, indeed, with the usual forms of 
rejoicing, but they were without joy; for such already was 
the glory of the British Navy, through Nelson's surpassing 
genius, that it scarcely seemed to receive any addition from 
the most signal victory that ever was achieved upon the 
seas: and the destruction of this mighty fleet, by which 
all the maritime schemes of France were totally frustrated, 
hardly appeared to add to our security or strength; for, 

^ Coleridge says (in The Friend), when he went to Naples, num- 
bers stopped and shook him by the hand, seeing the tears on his 
cheeks, and that he was an Englishman. "Several burst into tears ; 
and it pleased and affected me as a proof of the goodness of human- 
ity, to find it was whispered about that Nelson had become a good 
Catholic. The absurdity of the feeling was a sort of measurement 
of their affectionate esteem." — Note in Bohn's edition. 

^ "He [the poet] cometh unto you with a tale which holdeth chil- 
dren from play and old men from the chimney corner." Sir Philip 
Sidney, Defence of Poesy. 



1806] THE LIFE OF NELSON 297 

while Nelson was living, to watcli the combined squadrons 
of the enemy, we felt ourselves as secure as now, when 
they were no longer in existence. 

There was reason to suppose, from the appearances upon 
opening the body, that, in the course of nature, he might 
have attained, like his father, to a good old age. Yet he 
cannot be said to have fallen prematurely whose work was 
done; nor ought he to be lamented, who died so full of 
honours, and at the height of human fame. The most 
triumphant death is that of the martyr; the most awful 
that of the martyred patriot; the most splendid that of the 
hero in the hour of victory: and if the chariot and the 
horses of fire had been vouchsafed for Nelson's translation, 
he could scarcely have departed in a brighter blaze of glory. 
He has left us, not indeed his mantle of inspiration, but a 
name and an example, which are at this hour inspiring 
thousands of the youth of England: — a name which is 
our pride, and an example which will continue to be our 
shield and our strength. Thus it is that the spirits of the 
great and the wise continue to live and to act after them ; 
verifying, in this sense, the language of the old mythol- 
ogist : 

Toi jii£y dai/iovs's sidt, Aidi UEyaXov did /3ovXdi, 
^EdQXoi, ETtixOovioi, cpvAaKE<^ Bvrjzwv drQpGOTtGDv.^ 

^ These lines are from Hesiod's Woi^Jcs a7id Days (123, 123). They 
may be rendered thus: "Those god-like sphits, indeed, rendered 
powerful for good through the purposes of infinite Zeus, shall remain 
upon this earth as protectors of men that die." 

As an exercise, the student should read the conclusions of sev- 
eral biographies, especially those mentioned on p. 1, and of sev- 
eral essays of Macaulay, Johnson, Carlyle, or De Quincey. In all 
cases he should mark that the closing sentences draw some large 
conclusion ; and drive home, as it were, the moral of the dis- 
course ; indeed, as the introduction establishes a connection between 
the mind of the reader and the subject-matter, the conclusion should 
establish a connection between the subject and the broader, nobler, 
and more permanent interests of mankind. Construct a conclusion 
for a biography of some man who has died recently. 

It is suggested that, immediately after the Life of Nelson is finished, 
a careful study of one of Macaulay's biographical essays be under- 
taken with special reference to its rhetorical effects ; and that, after 
this, the biography of Nelson be condensed into the limits of a 
spirited essay. 



GLOSSAEY AND INDEX TO NOTES 



Abercrombie, Sir R., 243. 

Aboukir, 128. 

Acting Lieutenant : one who is 
performing the duties, without 
holding the commission, of a lieu- 
tenant. "Acting" is similarly 
used of other officers. 

Addington, the administration, 195. 

Admiral, 104. 

^neid, 36, 177. 

After-sails, 74. 

Agamemnon, the, 53, 54, 91. 

Alberoni, 58. 

Amiens, Peace of, 240. 

Arctic Exploration, 11. 

Argyle, Earl of, 154. 

Armed neutrality, 28. 

Athwart-hawse, 130. 

Bacon, Lord, 47. 

Ball, Sir Alexander, 119. 

Barge, crew of, 87. 

Barras, 89. 

Bath, 3. 

Beat up: tack or sail across the 

wind. 
Beatty, Sir J., 288. 
Berry, Captain, 128, 132, 133. 
Berwick, Duke of, 94. 
Between wind and water, 76. 
Bits : the wooden framework to 

which the cables are fastened. 
Blackwood, Captain, 188, 269, 282. 
Blake, Admiral, 107. 
Bomb, 11. 
Boom : a long pole used to extend 

the lower corner of a sail. 
Bowen, Captain, 111. 
Bower-anchor, 16. 
Brahe, Tycho, 202. 
Brails, 74. 
Brig : a two-masted, square-rigged 

vessel. 
Broad-pendant, 37. 
Bronte, 181. 
Browning, Robert, 42, 139. 



Bulkhead, 260. 

Buonaparte, 55, 89, 91, 122, 142, 190, 

262, 271, 276. 
Burke, Edmund, 64, 148. 
Burns, Robert, 19. 

Cable's-length, 204. 

Cffisar, 60, 237. 

Calder, Sir R., 271. 

Campbell, Thomas, 197, 226. 

Camperdown, Battle of, 115. 

Capstern-bar, 57. 

Captain, the, 91, 102. 

Captain of the Fleet : chief of staff 
of commander-in-chief ; respons- 
ible for all routine ; part of his 
duty is to keep the commander 
informed on all points of detail, 
and to consult with him as to 
the requirements of the different 
ships ; he cannot issue orders ex- 
cept in subordination to the ad- 
miral, or originate plans ; he ranks 
as rear-admiral. See Laughton, 
Nelso7i, p. 185. 

Caraccioli, 171, 172, 173. 

Carlyle, Thomas, 64. 

Caroline Matilda, 203. 

Carry away, 174. 

Cartel-ship, 70. 

Casa-Bianca, 135. 

Certificate, preserved at Plymouth, 
Mass., 30. 

Charles I., 57. 

Chatham, Earl of, 53. 

Clear for action : When a ship went 
into action bulkheads were taken 
down and everything possible 
taken below. 

Clue, 255. 

Cob, 181. 

Coleridge, S. T., 187, 294. 

Collingwood, 21, 193, 284, 293. 

Colonel of Marines, 78. 

Combustibles, 145. 

Commissioned officers, 120. 



300 



GLOSSARY AND INDEX TO NOTES 



Compass, mariner's, 283. 
Composition, suggestions for work 

in, 5, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 17, 24, 31, 32, 

39, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 53, 54, 56, 58, 

60, 69, 76, 79, 81, 87, 88, 98, 104, 

106, 122, 177, 274, 297. 
Comptroller, 19. 
Convoy : a fleet of mereliant-vessels 

protected by a man-of-war. 
Corsica, 60. 
Corvette : a vessel resembling a 

frigate, and ranking next below it 

among ships of war. 
Coxswain, 10. 
Croker, J. W., 269. 
Cross-jack-yard : the lower yard on 

the mizzen-mast of a full-rigged 

ship. 
Crow, 57. 
Cutter, 10. 

Davy, Sir Humphrey, 242. 
Deputations, 40. 
De Quincey, 290. 
Dickens, Charles, 59. 
Directory, the, 89. 
Double-headed shot, 218. 
Drinkwater, Colonel, 103, 
Driver-sail, 74. 
Duncan, Admiral, 244. 

Enghien, Due D', 123. 
English Revolution, 155. 
Explicit, 43. 

Falkland Islands, 9. 
Fall on board, 99. 
Fathom : six feet. 
Ferdinand IV. of Naples, 152. 
Flags, 104, 129, 137, 281. 
Flag-ship : the vessel bearing the 

commander-in-chief. 
Fore-brace : a rope fastened to the 

fore-yardarm used to change the 

position of the sail. 
Fore-top : the platform at the top 

of the fore-mast. 
Francis II. of Germany, 160. 
Fremantle, Captain, 111. 
French Revolution, 136, 155. 
Frigate, 6. 
Frustrate, 267. 

Galley, 196. 
Genereux, Le, 187. 
George III., 193, 245. 
Gibbon, 87. 
Glover, R., 24. 
Grant, General U. S., 67. 



Gray, Thomas, 51. 
Guardship, 9. 
Guillaume Tell, Le, 188. 
Guinea, 29. 
Gunshot distance, 74. 

Hakluyt, R., 16. 

Half-pay : half as much as full pay ; 

the pay usually of an officer not 

in regular service or on the retired 

list. 
Hallowell, Captain, 97, 136, 138, 145. 
Hamilton, Emma, Lady, 55, 125, 151, 

162, 173, 179, 191, 194, 241, 245, 

277 278 
Hamilton," Sir W., 55, 151, 152, 162, 

241 245. 
Hamlet, 28, 196. 
Hang, 129. 
Hanged, 60. 
Hanger, 20. 
Haul off, 94. 
Haydn, 191. 
Heave in stays, 75, 
Heave to : to bring a vessel to with 

her head to the wind and with one 

or more sails aback, so as to check 

her progress. 
Hebert, 154. 
Heraldry, 140. 
Hinchinbrook, 21. 
Hotham, Admiral, 76, 77. 
Howe, Lord, 36, 244. 
Hughes, Sir R. and Lady, 36. 

Ice anchor, 12. 
Incarnadine, 123. 
India, 18. 
Ismail, 156. 
Italy, 56. 

Jacobinism, 65. 
Jervis, Sir J., 88, 97, 98. 
Johnson, Dr. Samuel, 69. 

Landridge shot, 132. 
Larboard, 98, 210. 
Latitude and longitude, 36. 
Launch : the largest of a man-of 

war's boats. 
Lazzaroni, 151. 
Leading wind, 207. 
League, 205. 
Leeward, 37. 
Leeward Islands, 40. 
Letter of Credit, 139. 
Letter-of-Marque, 20. 
Lincoln's Inn, 34. 
Livre, 63. 



GLOSSARY AND INDEX TO NOTES 



301 



Loano, Battle of, 87. 
Locke, John, 154. 
Locker, Captain, 20. 
Long-boat, 10. 
L'Orient, 135. 
Louis XVI., 65. 
Luff, 99. 
Lugger, 204. 

Macaulay, 5, 58, 193, 249. 

Malta, Knights of, 156. 

Marat, 154. 

Maria Theresa, 148. 

Marie Antoinette, 148. 

Marine : soldier serving on board 

ship. 
Massaniello, 174. 
Master, 20. 
Merton, 241. 
Midshipman, 17. 
Milton, John, 282. 
Monmouth, Duke of, 154. 
Moore, Sir John, 66. 
Mortar, 207. 
Myriad, 122. 
Mystics, 18. 

Naples, 171, 175. 

Napoleon. See Buonaparte. 

National Convention, the, 65. 

Naval Cadet, 17. 

Navigation Act, 38, 39. 

Navy, the English, 6. 

Nelson, Horatio, Lord, 8, 44, 50, 51, 
69, 70, 71, 96, 101, 103, 105, 111, 
145, 170, 179, 190, 191, 193, 194, 198. 
199, 200, 201, 212, 216, 223, 227, 
234, 238, 246, 248, 249, 254, 268, 
271, 274, 275, 276, 282, 289, 293, 
294 

Nelson, Lady, 194, 247. 

Nelson touch, the, 274. 

Niebuhr, 225. 

Nisbet, Josiah, 56. 

Nootka Sound, 53. 

Nuevo Reyno, 23. 

On Boaed, 102. 
Orderly, 26. 

Paoli, 64, 65. 

Parker, 239. 

Pasquin, 97. 

Pendant, 37. 

Philippe Egalitd, 154. 

Piastre, 21. 

Pitt, 40, 156. 

Pontoon, 204. 

Poop : from Latin puppis; a short 



deck built over the after part of 

the spar deck of a vessel of war ; 

hence, generally, the stern of a 

vessel. 
Port-fire, 135. 
Post, 20. 
Praam, 215. 

Quarter : the half of the ship to- 
ward the stern. 
Quarter-deck, 76. 
Quarter-less-five, a, 210. 
Quintal, 21. 

Radeau, 204. 

Rake, 131. 

Receiving-ship, 48. 

Register Act, 43. 

Register-ship : a vessel registered 

under the Register Act. 
Ripperda, 58. 
Rodney, 31. 
Rolling ground, 236. 
Rousseau, 62. 
Royal Society, 11. 
Ruffo, Cardinal, 169. 
Run on board, 287. 
Russell, Lord William, 154. 

Sailor, the life of a, 10. 

Sandwich, Earl of, 29, 

San Josef, the, 195. 

Santissima Trinidad, the, 103, 284. 

Scherer, 89. 

Scott, Sir W., 64, 181, 203. 

Sequestrate, 92. 

Sequin, 140. 

Shakspere, 41. 

Shank, 16. 

Shilling, 29. 

Ship's-kettle, 11. 

Shiver, 75. 

Sidney, Algernon, 154. 

Sidney, Sir Philip, 296. 

Sixpence, 52. 

Slops, 48. 

Smart money, 116. 

Smith, Sir Sidney, 189. 

St. Angelo, Castle of, 159. 

Starboard, 74. 

St. Januarius, 163. 

St. Omer, 35. 

St. Pier D'Arena, 85. 

Studding sails : light sails set out- 
side a square sail. 

Suckling, Sir John, 6. 

Supercargo: an officer in a merchant 
ship who attends to the buying 
and selling of the cargo. 



302 



GLOSSARY AND INDEX TO NOTES 



Suwarrow, 156. 
Swiftsure, 137. 
Swivel, 24. 

Tender, 20. 
Tennyson, 41, 42, 294. 
Topsail breeze, 201. 
Touch, 74. 
Trafalgar, 279. 
Treville, La Touche, 255. 
Troubridge, 18, 130. 

Urbanity, 220. 



Vail, 203. 
Vansittart, 197. 
Veer, 129. 
Victory, the, 295. 



Walpole, Sir Robert and Horace, 
5, 59. 

Warp : to move a ship by means of 
cables fastened to some other ob- 
ject. 

Warrant-officers, 120. 

Washington, 230. 

Watch-and-watch, at, 17. 

Watches, 13. 

Water-line : a horizontal line sup- 
posed to be drawn about a ship 
at the surface of the water. 

Wear, 94, 119. 

Weather-bow, 74. 

Wilkes, John, 115. 

Windham, 142. 

Wolfe, Rev. C, 66. 

Wooden Walls, 196. 

Zealand, Capture of the, 220, 



Longmans' English Classics 



Books prescribed for 1897 Examinations, p. 2. 
Books prescribed for 1898 Examinations, p. 3. 
Books prescribed for 1899 Examinations, p. 5. 
Books prescribed for 1900 Examinations, p. 6. 
Other Volumes in the Series, - - p. 7. 



LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 

EDITED BY 

GEORGE RICE CARPENTER, A.B., 

Professor of Rhetoric and English Composition in Columbia College. 

This series is designed for use in secondary schools 
in accordance with the system of study recommended and 
outlined by the National Committee of Ten, and in direct 
preparation for the uniform entrance requirements in Eng- 
lish, now adopted by the principal American colleges and 
universities. 



Each Volume contains full Notes, Introductions, Bibliographies, 
and other explanatory and illustrative matter. Crown 8vo, cloth. 



Books Prescribed for the i8gy Examinations. 
FOR READING. 

Shakspere's As You Like It. With an introduction by Barrett 
Wendell, A.B., Assistant Professor of EngHsh in Harvard 
University, and notes by WilHam Lyon Phelps, Ph.D., Assistant 
Professor of Eng-lish in Yale University. Portrait. 

Defoe's History of the Plague in London. Edited, with 
introduction and notes, by Professor G. R. Carpenter, of 
Columbia College. With Portrait of Defoe. 

Irving's Tales of a Traveller. With an introduction by 
Brander Matthews, Professor of Literature in Columbia College, 
and explanatory notes by the general editor of the series. 
With Portrait of Irving. 



LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 



Books Prescribed for i8gy — Continued. 

George Eliot's Silas Marker. Edited, with introduction and 
notes, by Robert Herricl<, A.B., Assistant Professor of Rhetoric 
in the University of Chicago. With Portrait of George Eliot. 

FOR STUDY. 

Shakspere's Merchant of Venice. Edited, with introduction 
and notes, by Francis B. Gummere, Ph.D., Professor of English 
in Haverford College; Member of the Conference on English 
of the National Committee of Ten. With Portrait. 

Burke's Speech on Conciliation with America. Edited, 
with introduction and notes, by Albert S. Cook, Ph.D., Professor 
of the English Language and Literature in Yale University. 
With Portrait of Burke. 

Scott's Marmion. Edited, with introduction and notes, by 
Robert Morss Lovett, A.B., Assistant Professor of English in 
the University of Chicago. With Portrait of Sir Walter Scott, 

Macaulay's Life of Samuel Johnson. Edited, with intro- 
duction and notes, by the Rev. Huber Gray Buehler, of the 
Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, Conn. With Portrait of Johnson. 



Books Prescribed for the i8g8 Examinations. 

FOR READING. 

Milton's Paradise Lost. Books I. and II. Edited, with 
introduction and notes, by Edward Everett Hale, Jr., Ph.D., 
Professor of Rhetoric and Logic in Union College. With 
Portrait of Milton. 

Pope's Homer's Iliad. Books L, VL, XXII., and XXIV. 
Edited, with introduction and notes, by William H. Maxwell, 
A.M., Ph.D., Superintendent of Public Instruction, Brooklyn, 
N. Y., and Percival Chubb, Instructor in English, Manual 
Training High School, Brooklyn. With Portrait of Pope, 



LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 



Books Prescribed for i8g8 — Continued. 

The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers, from "The Spectator." 
Edited, with introduction and notes, by D. O. S. Lowell, A.M., 
of the Roxbury Latin School, Roxbury, Mass. With Portrait 
of Addison. 

Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield. Edited, with intro- 
duction and notes, by Mary A. Jordan, A.M., Professor of 
Rhetoric and Old English in Smith College. With Portrait of 
Goldsmith. 

Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Edited, 
with introduction and notes, by Herbert Bates, A.B., Instructor 
in English in the University of Nebraska. With Portrait of 
Coleridge. 

Southey's Life of Nelson. Edited, with introduction and 
notes, by Edwin L. Miller, A.M., of the Englewood High 
School, Illinois. With Portrait of Nelson and plans of battles. 

Carlyle's Essay on Burns. Edited, with introduction and 
notes, by Wilson Farrand, A.M., Associate Principal of the 
Newark Academy, Newark, N. J. With Portrait of Burns. 



FOR STUDY. 

Shakspere's Macbeth. Edited, with introduction and notes, 
by John Matthews Manly, Ph.D., Professor of the English 
Language in Brown University. With Portrait of Shakspere. 

Burke's Speech on Conciliation with America. Edited, 
with introduction and notes, by Albert S. Cook, Ph.D., Pro- 
fessor of the English Language and Literature in Yale 
University. With Portrait of Burke. 

De Ouincey's Flight of a Tartar Tribe. Edited, with intro- 
duction and notes, by Charles Sears Baldwin, Ph.D., Instructoif 
in Rhetoric in Yale University. With Portrait of De Quincey. 

Tennyson's The Princess. Edited with Introduction and 
Notes by George Edward Wood berry, A.B., Professor of 
Literature in Columbia College. With Portrait of Tennyson. 



LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 



^ooks Prescribed for the i8gg Examinations, 

Pope's Homer's Iliad. Books I., VI., XXII. , and XXIV. 
Edited, with introduction and notes, by William H. Maxwell, 
A.M., Ph.D., Superintendent of Public Instruction, Brooklyn, 
N. Y., and Percival Chubb, Instructor in English, Manual 
Training High School, Brooklyn. With Portrait of Pope. 

Dryden's Palamon and Arcite. Edited, with introduction 
and notes, by James W. Bright, Ph.D., Professor of English 
Philology in Johns Hopkins University. {^Preparing. 

The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers, from "The Spectator." 
Edited, with introduction and notes, by D. O. S. Lowell, A.M., 
of the Roxbury Latin School, Roxbury, Mass. With Portrait 
of Addison. 

Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield. Edited, with intro- 
duction and notes, by Mary A. Jordan, A.M., Professor of 
Rhetoric and Old English in Smith College. With Portrait of 
Goldsmith. 

Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Edited, 
with introduction and notes, by Herbert Bates, A.B., Instructor 
in English in the University of Nebraska. With Portrait of 
Coleridge. 

De Ouincey's Flight of a Tartar Tribe. Edited, with intro- 
duction and notes, by Charles Sears Baldwin, Ph.D., Instructor 
in Rhetoric in Yale University. With Portrait of De Ouincey. 

Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. With introduction and 
explanatory notes. \In preparation. 

FOR STUDY. 

Shakspere's Macbeth. Edited, with introduction and notes, 
by John Matthews Manly, Ph.D., Professor of the English 
Language in Brown University. With Portrait of Shakspere, 

Milton's Paradise Lost. Books I. and II. Edited, with 
introduction and notes, by Edward Everett Hale, Jr., Ph.D., 
Professor of Rhetoric and Logic in Union College. With 
Portrait of Milton. 



LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 



Books Prescribed for i8gg — Continued. 

Burke's Speech on Conciliation with America. Edited, 
with introduction and notes, by Albert S, Cook, Ph.D., Pro- 
fessor of the Enghsh Language and Literature in Yale Univer- 
sity. With Portrait of Burke. 

Carlyle's Essay on Burns. Edited, with introduction and 
notes, by Wilson Farrand, A.M., Associate Principal of the 
Newark Academy, Newark, N. J. With Portrait of Burns. 

Books Prescribed for the igoo Examinations. 

(See also Preceding Lists.) 

FOR READING. 

Dryden's Palamon and Arcite. Edited by Professor J. W. 
Bright. 

Pope's Homer's Iliad. Books L, VL, XXIL, and XXIV. 
Edited by Superintendent Maxwell and Percival Chubb. 

The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers. Edited by Dr. D. O. S. 
Lowell. 

Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield. Edited by Professor 
Mary A. Jordan. 

De Quincey's Flight of a Tartar Tribe. Edited by Dr. C. 
S. Baldwin. 

Tennyson's The Princess. Edited by Professor G. E. Wood- 
berry. 

Scott's Ivanhoe. \^In preparation. 

Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. \In preparation. 

FOR STUDY. 

Shakspere's Macbeth. Edited by Professor Manly. 

Milton's Paradise Lost. Books I. and II. Edited by Pro- 
fessor E. E. Hale, Jr. 

Burke's Speech on Conciliation with America. Edited by 
Dr. A. S. Cook. 

Macaulay's Essays on Milton and Addison. 



LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 



The following volumes are also ready : 
Scott's Woodstock. Edited, with introduction and notes, by 
Bliss Perry, A.M., Professor of Oratory and Esthetic Criticism 
in the College of New Jersey. With Portrait of Sir Walter 
Scott. 

Macaulay's Essay on Milton. Edited, with introduction and 
notes, by James Greenleaf Croswell, A,B., Head-master of the 
Brearley School, New York, formerly Assistant Professor of 
Greek in Harvard University. With Portrait of Macaulay. 

Shakspere's a Midsummer Night's Dream. Edited, with 
introduction and notes, by George Pierce Baker, A.B., Assistant 
Professor of English in Harvard University. With Frontispiece, 
'Imitation of an Elizabethan Stage.' 

Webster's First Bunker Hill Oration, together with other 
Addresses relating to the Revolution. Edited, with introduction 
and notes, by Fred Newton Scott, Ph.D., Junior Professor of 
Rhetoric in the University of Michigan. With Portrait of 
Daniel Webster. 

Milton's L'Allegro, II Penseroso, Comus, and Lycidas. 
Edited, with introductions and notes, by William P. Trent, A.M., 
Professor of English in the University of the South. With 
Portrait of Milton. 



" The series as a whole certainly marks . . . a clear advance 
beyond all its predecessors." — The Educational Revieiv^ February, i8g6. 

"We have seen no fitter school editions of these works which are 
now included in the preparatory reading required by all the leading 
colleges of the country." — The Critic^ New York, 

" The Suggestions for Teachers are likely to be of great value, not 
only because many teachers need assistance in such work, but also 
because they must tend to introduce the uniformity of method that is 
hardly less valuable than the uniformity of the courses themselves." 

— The Educational Review^ February, i8g6. 

"I take great pleasure in acknowledging the receipt of the two 
beautiful volumes in your English Classics. . . . They are not 
only thoroughly well edited, but excellent specimens of book-making, 
such books as a student may take pleasure in having, not merely for a 
task book but for a permanent possession. It is a wise project on your 
part, I think, to accustom young students to value books for their 
intrinsic worth, and that by the practical way of making the books good 
and attractive." — Prof. John F. Genung, Amherst College. 



LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 



" You are to be congratulated upon the excellence of the series of 
English Classics which you are now publishing, if I may judge of it 
by the three numbers I have examined. ... Of these, the intro- 
ductions, the suggestions to teachers, the chronological tables, and the 
notes are most admirable in design and execution. The editor-in-chief 
and his associates have rendered a distinct service to secondary schools, 
and the publishers have done superior mechanical work in the issue of 
this series." — Charles C. Ramsay, Principal of Durfee High School, 
Fall River, Mass. 

"With the two (volumes) I have already acknowledged and these 
four, I find myself increasingly pleased as I examine. As a series the 
books have two strong points: there is a unity of method in editing that 
I have seen in no other series; the books are freer from objections in 
regard to the amount and kind of editing than any other series I know." 
— Byron Groce, Master in English, Boston Latin School. 

•* I am your debtor for two specimens of your series of English 
Classics, designed for secondary schools in preparation for entrance 
examinations to college. With their clear type, good paper, sober and 
attractive binding — good enough for any library shelves — with their 
introductions, suggestions to teachers, and notes at the bottom of the 
pages, I do not see how much more could be desired." 

—Prof. D. L. Maulsby, Tufts College. 

" Admirably adapted to accomplish what you intend — to interest 
young persons in thoughtful reading of noble literature. The help given 
seems just what is needed; its generosity is not of the sort to make the 
young student unable to help himself. I am greatly pleased with the plan 
and with its execution." — Prof. C. B. Bradley, University of California; 
Member of English Conference of the National Committee of Ten. 

" Let me thank you for four more volumes of your excellent series 
of English Classics. ... As specimens of book-making they are 
among the most attractive books I have ever seen for school use; and the 
careful editing supplies just enough information to stimulate a young 
reader. I hope that the series may soon be completed and be widely 
used." — Prof. W. E. Mead, Wesleyan University. 

"The series is admirably planned, the ' Suggestions to Teachers' 
being a peculiarly valuable feature. I welcome all books looking toward 
better English teaching in the secondary schools." 

— Prof. Katherine Lee Bates, Wellesley College. 

" They are thoroughly edited and attractively presented, and cannot 
fail to be welcome when used for the college entrance requirements in 
English." — Prof. Charles F. Richardson, Dartmouth College. 



LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 



Irving's ' Tales of a Traveller.' 

" I feel bound to say that, if the series of English Classics is 
carried out after the plan of this initial volume, it will contribute much 
toward making the study of literature a pure deHght." 

— Prof. A. G. Newcomer, Iceland Stanford Jr. University. 

*' I have looked through the first volume of your English Classics, 
Irving's * Tales of a Traveller,' and do not see how literature could be 
made more attractive to the secondary schools." — Prof. Edward A. 
Allen, University of Missouri ; Member of the English Conference of 
the National Committee of Ten. 

" I have received your Irving's ' Tales of a Traveller' and examined 
it with much pleasure. The helpful suggestions to teachers, the 
judicious notes, the careful editing, and the substantial binding make it 
the most desirable, volume for class use on the subject, that has come to 
my notice." — Edwin Cornell, Principal of Central Valley Union 
School. N. Y. 

George Eliot's ' Silas Marner.' 

"This book is really attractive and inviting. The introduction, 
particularly the suggestions to pupils and teachers, is a piece of real 
helpfulness and wisdom." 

— D, E. Bowman, Principal of High School, Waterville, Me. 

"The edition of 'Silas Marner' recently sent out by you leaves 
nothing undone. I find the book handsome, the notes sensible and 
clear. I'm glad to see a book so well adapted to High School needs, 
and I shall recommend it, without reserve, as a safe and clean book to 
put before our pupils." 

— James W. McLane, Central High School, Cleveland, O. 

Scott's ' Woodstock.' 

" Scott's ' Woodstock,' edited by Professor Bliss Perry, deepens the 
impression made by the earlier numbers that this series, Longmans' 
English Classics, is one of unusual excellence in the editing, and will 
prove a valuable auxiliary in the reform of English teaching now 
generally in progress. . . . We have, in addition to the unabridged 
text of the novel, a careful editorial introduction ; the author's intro- 
duction, preface and notes ; a reprint of ' The Just Devil of Woodstock'; 
and such foot-notes as the student will need as he turns from page to 
page. Besides all this apparatus, many of the chapters have appended 
a few suggestive hints for character-study, collateral reading and dis- 
cussions of the art of fiction. All this matter is so skillfully distributed 
that it does not weigh upon the conscience, and is not likely to make the 



lo - LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 

student forget that he is, after all, reading a novel chiefly for the 
pleasure it affords. The entire aim of this volume and its companions 
is literary rather than historical or linguistic, and in this fact their chief 
value is to be found." — The Dial. 

"I heartily approve of the manner in which the editor's work has 
been done. This book, if properly used by the teacher and supple- 
mented by the work so clearly suggested in the notes, may be made of 
great value to students, not only as literature but as affording oppor- 
tunity for historical research and exercise in composition." 

— Lillian G. Kimball, State Normal School, Oshkosh, Wis. 

Defoe's ' History of the Plague in London.' 

"He gives an interesting biography of Defoe, an account of his 
works, a discussion of their ethical influence (including that of this 
'somewhat sensational' novel), some suggestions to teachers and students, 
and a list of references for future study. This is all valuable and sugges- 
tive. The reader wishes that there were more of it. Indeed, the criticism 
I was about to offer on this series is perhaps their chief excellence. 
One wishes that the introductions were longer and more exhaustive. 
For, contrary to custom, as expressed in Gratiano's query, 'Who riseth 
from a feast with that keen appetite that he sits down ? ' the young 
student will doubtless finish these introductions hungering for more. 
And this, perhaps, was the editor's object in view, viz., that the intro- 
ductory and explanatory matter should be suggestive and stimulating 
rather than complete and exhaustive ! " — Educational Review. 

" I have taken great pleasure in examining your edition of Defoe's 
Plague in London.' The introduction and notes are beyond reproach, 
and the binding and typography are ideal. The American school-boy 
is to be congratulated that he at length may study his English from 
books in so attractive a dress." — George N. McKnight, Instructor in 
English, Cornell University. 

" I am greatly obliged to you for the copy of the 'Journal of the 
Plague.' I am' particularly pleased with Professor Carpenter's intro- 
duction and his handling of the difficult points in Defoe's life." — PIam- 
MOND Lamont, A.B., Associate Professor of Composition and Rhetoric 
in Brown University. 

Macaulay's ' Essay on Milton.' 

" I have examined the Milton and am much pleased with it ; it fully 
sustains the high standard of the other works of this series ; the intro- 
duction, the suggestions to teachers, and the notes are admirable." 

— William Nichols, The Nichols School, Buffalo, N. Y. 



LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS ii 



"I beg to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of Macaulay's 
' Essay on Milton ' and Webster's ' First Bunker Hill Oration ' in your 
series of English Classics. These works for preparatory study are 
nowhere better edited or presented in more artistic form. I am glad you 
find it possible to publish so good a book for so little raoney." 

— Prof. W. H. Crawshaw, Colgate University. 

" I am especially pleased with Mr. Croswell's introduction to, and 
notes at the bottom of the page of, his edition of Macaulay's ' Essay on 
Milton.' I have never seen notes on a text that were more admirable 
than these. They contain just the inform.ation proper to impart, and 
are unusually well expressed." 

— Charles C. Ramsay, Principal of Fall River High School. 

Coleridge's 'Ancient Mariner.' 

" After an introduction which is well calculated to awaken interest 
both in Coleridge himself and in poetry as a form of literature, the 
poem is set before us with Coleridge's own glosses in the margin. Notes 
are added at the bottom of each page. These notes are well worth 
examination for the pedagogic skill they display. They provide, not so 
much information about the text, though all necessary explanation does 
appear, but suggestion and incitement to the discovery by the pupil for 
himself of the elements in the poem which the hasty reader only feels, if 
he does not lose them altogether. . . . Any good teacher will find 
this edition a veritable help to the appreciation of poetry by his pupils." 
— Principal Ray Greene Huling, English High School, Cambridge, 
Mass. 

" Mr. Bates is an interesting and charming writer of verse as well as 
prose, and makes a helpful and appreciative teacher to follow through 
the intricacies of the poem in question. In addition to extensive notes 
and comments, the book has a well-planned, brightly written introduc- 
tion, comprising a Coleridge biography, bibliography, and chronological 
table, a definition of poetry in general, and a thoughtful study of the 
origin, form, and criticisms of this particular poem, ' The Ancient 
Mariner.' Teachers and students of English are to be congratulated on. 
and Mr. Bates and his publishers thanked for, this acquisition to the 
field of literary study." — Literary World, Boston. 

Milton's • L' Allegro, II Penseroso, etc.' 

" Professor Trent's sympathetic treatment on the literary side of 
the subject matter, makes the introductions and notes of more than usual 
interest and profit ; and I think that it is just such editing as this that 
our younger students need in approaching the works of the great poets." 
— J. Russell Hayes, Assistant Professor of English, Swarthmore 
College, Pa. 



12 LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 

It has been the aim of the publishers to secure editors 
of high reputation for scholarship, experience, and skill, 
and to provide a series thoroughly adapted, by uniformity 
of plan and thoroughness of execution, to present educa- 
tional needs. The chief distinguishing features of the 
series are the following : 

I. Each volume contains full "Suggestions for Teach- 
ers and Students," with bibliographies, and, in many 
cases, lists of topics recommended for further reading or 
study, subjects for themes and compositions, specimen 
examination papers, etc. It is therefore hoped that the 
series will contribute largely to the working out of sound 
methods in teaching English. 

2. The works prescribed for reading are treated, in every 
case, as literature, not as texts for narrow linguistic study, 
and edited with a view to interesting the student in the 
book in question both in itself and as representative of a 
literary type or of a period of literature, and of leading 
him on to read other standard works of the same age or 
kind understandingly and appreciatively. 

3. These editions are not issued anonymously, nor are 
they hackwork, — the result of mere compilation. They 
are the original work of scholars and men of letters who 
are conversant with the topics of which they treat. 

4. Colleges and preparatory schools are both repre- 
sented in the list of editors (the preparatory schools more 
prominently in the lists for 1897 and 1898), and it is in- 
tended that the series shall exemplify the ripest methods 
of American scholars for the teaching of English — the 
result in some cases of years of actual experience in 
secondary school work, and, in others, the formulation of 
the experience acquired by professors who observe care- 
fully the needs of students who present themselves for 
admission to college. 

5. The volumes are uniform in size and style, are well 
printed and bound, and constitute a well-edited set of 
standard works, fit for permanent use and possession — a 
nucleus for a library of English literature. 



LONGMANS, GREEN, &- CO.' S PUBLICATIONS. 



EPOCHS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

MESSRS. LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. have the pleasure to state 
that they are now publishing a short series of books treating of the history 
of America, under the general title Epochs of American History. The 
series is under the editorship of Dr. Albert Bushnell Hart, Assistant 
Professor of History in Harvard College, who has also prepared all the maps 
for the several volumes. Each volume contains about 300 pages, similar in 
size and style to the page of the volumes in Messrs. Longmans' series, 
* Epochs of Modern History,' with full marginal analysis, working bibliogra- 
phies, maps, and index. The volumes are issued separately, and each is 
complete in itself. The volumes now ready provide a continuous history 
of the United States from the foundation of the Colonies to the present 
time, suited to and intended for class use as well as for general reading and 
reference. 

*^* The volumes of this series already issued have been adopted for use as text- 
books in nearly all the leading Colleges and in many Normal Schools and other 
institutions . A prospectus, showing Contents and scope of each volume, specimen 
pages, etc. , will be sent on application to the Publishers. 



I. THE COLONIES, 1492-1750. 

By Reuben Gold Thv^aites, Secretary of the State Historical Society of 
Wisconsin ; author of " Historic Waterways," etc. With four colored 
maps. pp. xviii.-30i. Cloth. $1.25. 

CORNELL university. 

*' I beg leave to acknowledge your courtesy in sending me a copy of the first 
volume in the series of ' Epochs of American History," which I have read with 
great interest and satisfaction. I am pleased, as everyone must be, with the 
mechanical execution of the book, with the maps, and with the fresh and valua- 
ble 'Suggestions' and 'References.' .... The work itself appears to 
me to be quite remarkable for its comprehensiveness, and it presents a vast 
array of subjects in a way that is admirably fair, clear and orderly." — Professor 
Moses Coit Tyler, Ithaca, N. Y. 

WILLIAMS college. 

" It is just the book needed for college students, not too brief to be uninter- 
esting, admirable in its plan, and well furnished with references to accessible 
authorities." — Professor Richard A. Rice, Williamstown, Mass. 

vassar college. 
•' Perhaps the best recommendation of ' Thwaites' American Colonies ' is 
the fact that the day after it was received I ordered copies for class-room use. 
The book is admirable."— Professor Lucy M. Salmon, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 

" All that could be desired. This volume is more like a fair treatment of the 
whole subject of the colonies than any work of the sort yet produced.'' 

— The Critic. 

" The subject is virtually a fresh one as approached by Mr. Thwaites. It is 
a pleasure to call especial attention to some most helpful bibliographical notes 
provided at the head of each chapter '' — The Nation. 



LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 91-93 Fifth Avenue, New York. 



LONGMANS, GREEN, &= CO: S PUBLICATIONS. 



EPOCHS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 
II. FORMATION OF THE UNION, I75a-i829. 

By Albert Bushnell Hart, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of History in 
Harvard University, Member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
Author of "Introduction to the Study of Federal Government," 
"Epoch Maps," etc. With five colored maps. pp. XX.-278. Cloth. 
$1.25. 

The second volume of the Epochs of American History aims to follow 
out the principles laid down for "The Colonies," — the study of causes 
rather than of events, the development of the American nation out of scattered 
and inharmonious colonies. The throwing off of English control, the growth 
out of narrow political conditions, the struggle against foreign domination, and 
the extension of popular government, are all parts of the uninterrupted process 
of the Formation of the Union. 

LELAND STANFORD JR. UNIVERSITY. 

" The large and sweeping treatment of the subject, which shows the true re- 
lations of the events preceding and following the revolution, to the revolution 
itself, is a real addition to the literature of the subject ; while the bibliography 
prefixed to each chapter, adds incalculably to the value of the work." — Mary 
Sheldon Barnes, Palo Alto, Cal. 

" It is a careful and conscientious study of the period and its events, and 
should find a place among the text-books of our public schools." 

— Boston Transcript. 

" Professor Hart has compressed a vast deal of information into his volume, 
and makes many things most clear and striking. His maps, showing the terri- 
torial growth of the United States, are extremely interesting." 

— AT'ew York Times. 

" . . The causes of the Revolution are clearly and cleverly condensed into 
a few pages. . . The maps in the work are singularly useful even to adults. 
There are five of these, which are alone worth the price of the volume," 

— Magazine of American History. 

"The formation period of our nation is treated with much care and with 
great precision. Each chapter is prefaced with copious references to authori- 
ties, which are valuable to the student who desires to pursue his reading more 
extensively. There are five valuable maps showing the growth of our country 
by successive stages and repeated acquisition of territory." 

— Boston Advertiser. 

" Dr. Hart is not only a master of the art of condensation, . . . he is 
what is even of greater importance, an interpreter of history. He perceives 
the logic of historic events ; hence, in his condensation, he does not neglect 
proportion, and more than once he gives the student valuable clues to the 
solution of historical problems." — Atlantic Monthly. 

" A valuable volume of a valuable series. The author has written with a 
full knowledge of his subject, and we have little to say except in praise." 

— English Historical Review. 



LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 91-93 Fifth Avenue, New York. 



LONGMANS, GREEN, &- CO.'S PC/BL/ CATIONS. 



EPOCHS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



III. DIVISION AND RE-UNION, 1829-1889. 

By WooDROW Wilson, Ph.D., LL.D., Professor of Jurisprudence in 

Princeton College ; Author of "Congressional Government," "The 

State — Elements of Historical and Practical Politics," etc., etc. With 

five colored Maps. 346 pages. Cloth, $1.25. 

"We regret that we have not space for more quotations from this uncom 
monly strong, impartial, interesting book. Giving only enough facts to 
elucidate the matter discussed, it omits no important questions. It furnishes 
the reader clear-cut views of the right and the wrong of them all. It gives ad- 
mirable pen-portraits of the great personages of the period with as much free- 
dom from bias, and as much pains to be just, as if the author were delineating 
Pericles, or Alcibiades, Sulla, or Caesar. Dr. Wilson has earned the gratitude of 
seekers after truth by his masterly production."— A^. C. Utiiversity Magazine. 

" This admirable httle volume is one of the few books which nearly meet our 
ideal of history. It is causal history in the truest sense, tracing the workings of 
latent influences and far-reaching conditions of their outcome in striking fact, 
yet the whole current of events is kept in view, and the great personalities of 
the time, the nerve-centers of history, live intensely and in due proportion in 
these pages. We do not know the equal of this book for a brief and trust- 
worthy, and, at the same time, a brilliantly written and sufficient history of these 
sixty years. We heartily commend it, not only for general reading, but as an 
admirable text-book." — Post-Graduate and Wooster Quarterly. 

" Considered as a general history of the United States from 1829 to 1889, 
his book is marked by excellent sense of proportion, extensive knowledge, im- 
partiality of judgment, unusual power of summarizing, and an acute political 
sense. Few writers can more vividly set forth the views of parties," 

— Atlantic Monthly. 

" Students of United States history may thank Mr. Wilson for an extreme- 
ly clear and careful rendering of a period very difficult to handle . . . they 
will find themselves materially aided in easy comprehension of the political 
situation of the country by the excellent maps." — JV. Y. Times. 

" Professor Wilson writes in a clear and forcible style. . . . The bibli- 
ographical references at the head of each chapter are both well selected and 
well arranged, and add greatly to the value of the work, which appears to be 
especially designed for use in instruction in colleges and preparatory schools." 

— Yale Review. 

" It is written in a style admirably clear, vigorous, and attractive, a thorough 
grasp of the subject is shown, and the development of the theme is lucid and 
orderly, while the tone is judicial and fair, and the deductions sensible and 
dispassionate — so far as we can see. ... It would be difficult to construct 
a better manual of the subject than this, and it adds greatly to the value of this 
useful series." — Hartford Courant. 

". . . One of the most valuable historical works that has appeared in 
many years. The delicate period of our country's history, with which this 
work is largely taken up, is treated by the author with an impartiality that is 
almost unique." — Columbia Law Times. 



LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 91-93 Fifth Avenue, New York. 



LONGMANS, GREEN, 6- CO:S PUBLICATIONS. 

ENGLISH HISTORY FOR AMERICANS. 

By Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Author of "Young Folks' His- 
tory of the United States," etc., and Edward Channing, Assistant 
Professor of History in Harvard University. With 77 Illustrations, 6 
Colored Maps, Bibliography, a Chronological Table of Contents, and 
Index. i2mo. Pp. xxxii-334. Teachers' price, $1.20. 

The name " English History for Americans," which suggests the key-note of 
this book, is based on the simple fact that it is not the practice of American 
readers, old or young, to give to English history more than a limited portion of 
their hours of study. ... It seems clear that such readers will use their 
time to the best advantage if they devote it mainly to those events in English 
annals which have had the most direct influence on the history and institutions 
of their own land. . . . The authors of this book have therefore boldly 
ventured to modify in their narrative the accustomed scale of proportion ; while 
it has been their wish, in the treatment of every detail, to accept the best re- 
sult of modern English investigation, and especially to avoid all unfair or 
one-sided judgments. , . . Extracts from Author's Preface. 

DR. W. T. HARRIS, U. S. COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION. 

" I take great pleasure in acknowledging the receipt of the book, and be- 
lieve it to be the best introduction to English history hitherto made for the use 
of schools. It is just what is needed in the school and in the family. It is the 
first history of England that I have seen which gives proper attention to socio- 
logy and the evolution of political ideas, without neglecting what is picturesque 
and interesting to the popular taste. The device of placing the four historical 
maps at the beginning and end deserves special mention for its convenience. 
Allow me to congratulate you on the publication of so excellent a text-book.'* 

ROXBURY LATIN SCHOOL. 

". . . The most noticeable and commendable feature in the book seems 
to be its Unity. ... I felt the same reluctance to lay the volume down 
. . . that one experiences in reading a great play or a well-constructed 
novel. Several things besides the unity conspire thus seductively to lead the 
reader on. The page is open and attractive, the chapters are short, the type 
is large and clear, the pictures are well chosen and significant, a surprising 
number of anecdotes told in a crisp and masterful manner throw valuable side- 
lights on the main narrative ; the philosophy of history is undeniably there, but 
sugar-coated, and the graceful style would do credit to a Macaulay. I shall 
immediately recommend it for use in our school." — Dr. D. O. S, Low^ell. 

LAV\^RENCEVILLE SCHOOL. 
"In answer to your note of February 23d I beg to say that we have intro- 
duced your Higginson's English History into our graduating class and are 
much pleased with it. Therefore whatever endorsement I, as a member of the 
Committee of Ten, could give the book has already been given by my action 
in placing it in our classes." — James C. Mackenzie, Lawrenceville, N. J. 

ANN ARBOR HIGH SCHOOL. 

" It seems to me the book will do for English history in this country what 
the 'Young Folks' History of the United States ' has done for the history of our 
own country — and I consider this high praise." 

— T. G. Pattengill, Ann Arbor, Mich. 



LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 91-93 Fifth Avenue, New York. 



LONGMANS, GREEN, &= CO:S PUBLICATIONS. 

A STUDENT'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND, from 
the Earliest Times to 1885. 

By Samuel Rawson Gardiner, M.A., LL.D., Fellow of All Souls 
College, Oxford, etc.; Author of "The History of England from the 
Accession of James I. to 1642," etc. Illustrated under the superintend- 
ence of Mr. W. H. St. John Hope, Assistant Secretary of the Society 
of Antiquaries, and with the assistance in the choice of Portraits of 
Mr. George Scharf, C.B., F.S.A., who is recognized as the highest 
authority on the subject. In one Volume, with 378 Illustrations and 
full Index. Crown 8vo, cloth, plain, $3.00. 

The book is also published in three Volutnes {each with Index and 
Table of Contents') as follows : 

VOLUME I.— B.C. 55-A.D. 1509. 410 pp. With 173 Illustrations and Index. 
Crown 8vo, $1.20. 

VOLUME II.— A. D. 1509-1689. 332 pp. With 96 Illustrations and Index. 
Crown 8vo, $1.20. 

VOLUME III.— A.D. 1689-1885. 374 pp. With 109 Illustrations and Index. 
Crown 8vo, ^1.20. 

V Gardiner's "Student's History of England," through Part IX. (to 
1789), is recommended by HARVARD UNIVERSITY as indicating the 
requirements for admission in this subject ; and the ENTIRE work is mads 
the basis for English history study in the University. 

YALE UNIVERSITY. 

" Gardiner's ' Student's History of England ' seems to me an admirable 
short history.'' — Prof. C. H. Smith, New Haven, Conn. 

TRINITY COLLEGE, HARTFORD. 

" It is, in my opinion, by far the best advanced school history of England 
that I have ever seen. It is clear, concise, and scientific, and, at the same time, 
attractive and interesting. The illustrations are very good and a valuable 
addition to the book, as they are not mere pretty pictures, but of real historical 
and archaeological interest." — Prof. Henry Ferguson. 

"A unique feature consists of the very numerous illustrations. They 
throw light on almost every phase of English life in all ages. . . . Never, 
perhaps, in such a treatise has pictorial illustration been used with so good 
effect. The alert teacher will find here ample material for useful lessons by 
leading the pupil to draw the proper inferences and make the proper interpre- 
tations and comparisons. . . . The style is compact, vigorous, and inter- 
esting. There is no lack of precision ; and, in the selection of the details, the 
hand of the scholar thoroughly conversant with the source and with the results 
of recent criticism is plainly revealed." — The Nation, N. Y, 

" . . . It is illustrated by pictures of real value ; and when accompanied 
by the companion ' Atlas of English History' is all that need be desired for its 
special purpose." — The Churchman, N. Y. 

^'**^ prospectus and specimen pages of Gardiner^ s *■'■ Sttidenfs History 
of England''"' will be sent free on application to the publishers. 



LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 91 and 93 Fifth Ave., New York. 



LONGMANS, GREEN, &= CO: S PUBLICATIONS. 



LONGMANS' SCHOOL GRAMMAR. 

By David Salmon. Part I., Parts of Speech ; Part II., Classification 
and Inflection ; Part III., Analysis of Sentences ; Part IV., History 
and Derivation. With Notes for Teachers and Index. New Edition, 
Revised. With Preface by E. A. Allen, Professor of English in the 
University of Missouri. i2mo. 272 pages. 75 cents. 

"... One of the best working grammars we have ever seen, and this 
applies to all its parts. Tt is excellently arranged and perfectly graded. Part 
IV., on History and Derivation, is as beautiful and interesting as it is valuable 
—but this might be said of the whole book." — New York Teacher. 

" The Grammar deserves to supersede all others with which we are ac- 
quainted." — N. Y. Nation, July 2, 1891. 

PREFACE TO AMERICAN EDITION. 

It seems to be generally conceded that English grammar is worse taught 
and less understood than any other subject in the school course. This is, 
doubtless, largely due to the kind of text-books used, which, for the most part, 
require methods that violate the laws of pedagogy as well as of language. 
There are, however, two or three English grammars that are admirable com- 
mentaries on the facts of the language, but, written from the point of view of 
the scholar rather than of the learner, they fail to awaken any interest in the 
subject, and hence are not serviceable for the class-room. 

My attention was first called to Longmans' School Grammar by a favorable 
notice of it in the Nation. In hope of finding an answer to the inquiry of 
numerous teachers for " the best school grammar," I sent to the Publishers for 
a copy. An examination of the work, so far from resulting in the usual dis- 
appointment, left the impression that a successful text-book in a field strewn 
with failures had at last been produced. For the practical test of the class- 
room, I placed it in the hands of an accomplished grammarian, who had tried 
several of the best grammars published, and he declares the results to be most 
satisfactory. 

The author's simplicity of method, the clear statement of facts, the orderly 
arrangement, the wise restraint, manifest on every page, reveal the scholar and 
practical teacher. No one who had not mastered the language in its early his- 
torical development could have prepared a school grammar so free from sense- 
less rules and endless details. The most striking feature, minimum of precept, 
maximum of example, will commend itself to all teachers who follow rational 
methods. In this edition, the Publishers have adapted the illustrative sentences 
to the ready comprehension of American pupils, and I take pleasure in recom- 
mending the book, in behalf of our mother tongue, to the teachers of our Pub- 
lic and Private Schools. 

Edward A. Allen. 
University of Missouri, May, 1891. 

MR. HALE'S school, BOSTON. 

" I have used your Grammar and Composition during the last year in my 
school, and like them both very much indeed. They are the best books of the 
kind I have ever seen, and supply a want I have felt for a good many years." — 
Albert Hale, Boston, Mass. 



LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 91-93 Fifth Avenue, New York. 



LONGMANS, GREEN, &- COr 5 PUBLICATIONS. 

LONGMANS' SCHOOL GRAMMAR.— 6)/'/iV7<9A^^. 

girls' high school, boston, mass. 

''When you put Longmans' School Grammar in my hands, some year or 
two ago, I used it a little while with a boy of nine years, with perfect satisfac- 
tion and approval. The exigencies of the boy's school arrangements inter- 
cepted that course in grammar and caused the book to be laid aside. To-day 
I have taken the book and have examined it all, from cover to cover. It is; 
simply a perfect grammar. Its beginnings are made with utmost gentleness 
and reasonableness, and it goes at least quite as far as in any portion of our 
public schools course it is, for the present, desirable to think of going. The 
author has adjusted his book to the very best conceivable methods of teaching, 
and goes hand in hand with the instructor as a guide and a help. Grammar 
should, so taught, become a pleasure to teacher and pupil. Especially do I 
relish the author's pages of ' Notes for Teachers,' at the end of the book. The 
man who could write these notes should enlarge them into a monograph on the 
teaching of English Grammar. He would, thereby, add a valuable contribu- 
tion to our stock of available pedagogic helps. I must add in closing, that 
while the book in question has, of course, but small occasion to touch disputed 
points of English Grammar, it never incurs the censure that school grammars 
are almost sure to deserve, of insufificient acquaintance with modern linguistic 
science. In short, the writer has shown himself scientifically, as well as peda- 
gogically, altogether competent for his task." 

— Principal Samuel Thurber. 

HIGH school, fort WAYNE, IND. 

" . . . . It is not often that one has occasion to be enthusiastic over a 
school-book, especially over an English Grammar, but out of pure enthusiasm, 
I write to express my grateful appreciation of this one. It is, without exception, 
the best English Grammar that I have ever seen for children from twelve to 
fifteen years of age. It is excellent in matter and method. Every page shows 
the hand of a wise and skilful teacher. The author has been content to present 
the facts of English Grammar in a way intelligible to children. The book is so 
intelligible and so interesting from start to finish that only the genius of dulness 
can make it dry. There are no definitions inconsistent with the facts of our 
language, no facts at war with the definitions. There are other grammars that 
are more '' complete " and as correct in teaching, but not one to be compared 
with it in adaptation to the needs of young students. It will not chloroform the 
intelhgence." — Principal C. T. Lane. 

HIGH school, MINOOKA, ILL. 

" We introduced your School Grammar into our schools the first of this 
term, and are highly satisfied with the results. In my judgment there is no 
better work extant for the class of pupils for which it is designed." 

— Principal E. F. Adams. 

NEWARK academy, NEWARK, N. J. 

" We are using with much satisfaction your Longmans' School Grammar, 
adopted for use in our classes over a year since. Its strong points are simplic- 
ity of arrangement, and abundance of examples for practice. In these par- 
ticulars I know of no other book equal to it." — Dr. S. A. Farrand. 

\* A Prospectus showing contents and specimen pages may be had of the Pub" 
Ushers. 



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LONGMANS, GREEN, of CO:S PUBLICATIONS 

STUDIES IN AMERICAN EDUCATION. 

By Albert Bushnell Hart, Ph.D. i2mo, cloth, gilt top, $1.25. 

Contents : Has the Teacher a Profession ? — Reform in the Grammar 
Schools — University Participation, a Substitute for University Extension — 
How to Study History — How to Teach History in Secondary Schools — The 
Status of Athletics in American Colleges — Index. 

" This volume consists of six essays, each one excellent in its way." 

— Public Opinion, New York. 

" Prof. Hart is a keen observer and a profound thinker ; he knows what 
American education is, and he knows what it ought to be . . . his whole 
treatment of the subject is vigorous and original. . . . He has a most helpful 
article on the study of history, and another equally significant on the teaching of 
history in the secondary schools." — Beacon, Boston. 

"The essays on 'How to Study and Teach History' are admirable. As 
education is a unit, the same methods can be applied in all grades. The relation 
of college curriculums to secondary schools is the underlying subject of the book, 
but it is still an open question whether secondary schools should justify their 
methods because they prepare for college, or whether they should assume the 
independent position, that they furnish such knowledge as is most requisite for 
boys and girls who can study till they are eighteen, but are not going to college. 
It is easily possible to take this attitude and yet have a preparatory class for 
Harvard in the same high school." — Literary World, Boston. 

"As for the essays themselves, however, only words of praise ought to be 
spoken. The style is clear, concise, active, enlivened by apt illustrations ; 
' breezy ' may perhaps be the word. The thought is practical and clear-headed, 
as Professor Hart always is, and the essays themselves have been ' brought down 
to date.' " — School Review, Hamilton, N. Y. 

" This new volume from the experience and pen of Professor Hart is one of 
practical interest, and a valuable addition to the rapidly increasing collection of 
works on pedagogy. . . . While all the chapters are interesting, perhaps the 
one most interesting to the general reader is that on ' How to Study History,' and 
here Mr. Hart shows his decided preferences for the topical method of study. 
This chapter should be read by aU students of history and especially by those 
members of private classes, of which so many are to be found in our villages and 
clubs all through the country." — Transcript, Boston. 

" His studies have a decidedly practical tendency, and together constitute an 
addition to our steadily growing stock of good educational literature." 

— Dial, Chicago. 

" The author is especially fitted to write a volume which has the rare merit of 
treating current educational ideas not only from the standpoint of the teacher, 
but also of the pupil, the board of education and the public at large. The book 
will prove specially interesting and instructive to the general reader." 

Post Graduate, Wooster, Ohio, 

"Whatever Dr. Hart contributes to educational or histoi'ical literature is 
always worth reading, and teachers will find these essays very suggestive. ' ' 

School Review, Monroe, La. 



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